^iTiiaDNvsoi^     vAiiaAiNfl-mv       <yHOi\mi^'^     "^Homyi^"^ 


-^imims/A 


o 


s^lOSANCElfjv^ 
o  f      /^^^  dz 

DC* 


%a3AINn-3WV 


^;^l■lIBRARYQ^ 


-.^UIBRARYQ^ 


AWtUMIVER%       ^lOSANCElfj'^ 


^<!/0JllV0-JO^      ^<tfOJIlV3JO^        '^>ril3DNVS01^'^       %a3AINn-3V\V' 


^^OfCAllfOfiU^       ^OFCAIIFO% 


AWEUNIVERVa 


^lOSANCElfT> 

o 


Wavaaiix^    ^(^AavaaiH^       ^rii^oNvsoi^'^     '^/^a3AiNn]WV 


^WE•UNIVERy/i 


^lOSANCElfj^ 
o 


<rii30NVso#     ^^/smmv^ 


aweuniver% 


o 


<rii]3Nvso]^'^     "^AaaAiNrt-awv^ 


^^t•llBRARY■<?^ 


>s,^lllBRARYac. 


M?^vaani^ 


^OAbvaaii-^^'^' 


^lllBRARYQ^       ^^IIIBRARYQ^^ 


^^OJIIVDJO^      ^(!/OJIlV0JO^ 


aWEUNIVER% 


^lOSANCElfj^ 

O 


O 

<fil30NVS01=^ 


%J13AIN[1-3WV 


nr  /'iiirnn^ 


nc  riiirnn. 


lie  iuinrrnr< 


inc.Aiirnro 


•^/oai/MnnMn* 


'UU3UVJ  3U  • 


'«U3UVJ-JU' 


'Or 


o 

I? 


^^lOSANCElfjVs 

o 


^      5 


"^iiaAiNn^wv 


OjO^       '^<!/0JnV3JO^ 


^WE•UNIVERS•/A 


.  , ^     ^  o 


^lOSANCElfj-^ 


%a3AiNn-3V\v 


■< 


>;,OFCALIF0%  .^WEUNIVERiy/i 


.   ,_ ''   "  '  o 

<ril3DNVS01^ 


^lOSANCElfj^ 
o  ^ 


"^AaaAiNfl-awv 


Oc    l\    / 


% 


.VlOSANGElfj> 

o 


-s^^llIBRARYi?/^ 


^lUBRARYQc. 


%a3AINa]WV^         ^OJIIYD-JO"^      "^OJIWDJO^ 


oe  ■ 


'Or 

o 

-n 

o 

I? 


o  " 


"^a^AiNnmv 


aOF-CAI!F0«^ 


"^^^AHvaani^ 


^.QFCAtlFOM^ 
-^ViS**  lex. 


^^Aavaaii# 


aWEUNIVERJ/a 


ojo^^     %ojnvojo"^       ^TiiaoNvsoi^ 


A;^lOSANCElfj;> 


=     .-< 


'%a3AiNn-]WV^ 


.^.(^F•^AIlFnA>y,. 


<UFIIlJIVFPr/K 


.vin^AMf.FIPr. 


FlYE  YEIRS  AT  PANAMA. 


TO    BE    ISSUED. 


:B"5r    THE!    S-A_3VEE    -A-TJXHOIt 

DE  LESSEES'  LAST   DITCH, 

ITS  FACTS,  FIGURES  AND  FICTIONS;  illustrated. 

A  Sequel  to  "  Five  Years  at  Panama." 


FROM  OCEAN  TO  OCEAN,  OR  ACROSS 
NICARAGUA;  illustrated. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA 


THE   TRANS-ISTHMIAN   CANAL 


WOLFKED     NELSON,    M.D. 

CORRESPONDING  MEMBER   NATURAL  HISTORY  SOCIETY,   MONTREAL 


NEW    YORK 

BELFORD    COMPANY,   PUBLISHERS 

18-22  East  18th  Street 

Belford-Clarke  Co.,  Chicago  and  San  Francisco.— Wm.  Drysdall 

&  Co.,  Montreal,  Canada.— The  Wilson  Webb  Stationery  Co., 

Little  Kock,  Ark.— M.  Galiqnani,  Paris  and  Nice,  France 


COPYBIGHT,    1S89 
BY    WOLFRED    KELSON 


N33 


i 


DEDICATION. 


TO    FRED. 

THIS,  THE  FIBST  OF  A  SERIES  OF  WORKS  ON  TRAVEL  IN 
FOREIGN  COUNTRIES,  IS  AFFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED,  AS  A 
SOUVENIR   OF   OUR  RESIDENCE   AT  PANAMA,    BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


764960 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Map,  Illustrating  Isthmus  of  Panama;   its  Geo- 
graphical and  Commercial  Relations,    .  Frontii^piece. 

OPP.  PAGE 

Front  Street,  Colon;   Isthmus  of  Panama — Arch,  Ruins 

of  St.  Anastasius;  Old  Panama           ...  3 

Monument  to  Stephens,  Chauncey  and  Aspinwall;  Colon  5 

Episcopal  Church,  Colon;  Built  by  Panama  Railway       .  8 

Canal  Cut  at  Emperador    .....  13 

Canal  Cut  at  Culebra                .....  16 

Canal  Encampment  at  Culebra    ....  27 

Cathedral,  Panama       ......  48 

Old  Houses  at  Panama       .....  51 

The  Cabildo, or  Town-Hall,  Panama              .            .            .  66 

Flag-Staff,  Consulate  General  U.  S.  A.,  Panama          .  77 

The  Market,  Panama                .....  99 

Canal  Building,  Cathedral  Plaza,  Panama         .            .  107 
Irish  Residences.  Panama  Cemetery            .            .            .  115 
Bovedas,  Panama  Cemetery — Native  Girl  in  Pollera   .  120 
For  Sale!  Second-Hand  Coffins,  Panama  Cemeteiy          .  136 
Panama  Cemetery;  Ready-Made  Giaves  .          .            .  146 
Small  Boy  Clad  in  native  Modesty,  Suburbs  of  Panama  ,  157 
Island    of  Moro,    Gulf  of   Panama — Bridge,   Old    Pan- 
ama—American Dredge,  Panama  Canal          .        .  103 
Tamarind    Grove,    Village    of     Restingue,   Island     of 

Tcboga        .......  no 

African  Method  of  Holding  Children,  Gulf  of  Panama  179 

Kanchos  of  Restingue,  Island  of  Toboga           .            .  188 
Native   Rancho — Emperador  Line   of  Panama  Raihvay 

and  Canal  .......  191 

Tower,  Cathedral  of  St.  Anastasius;  Old  Panama       .  202 

Sole  Residence  at  Old  Panama          ....  214 


CONTENTS. 


PAGS 

PREFACE xi-xiv 

CHAPTER  I. 

DEPARTURE  FOR  COLON,  ISTHMUS  OF  PANAMA— AJf 
AMUSING  INCIDENT — WATLING'S  ISLAND — CROOK- 
ED ISLAND  PASSAGE — THE  ISLAND  OF  NAVASSA 
— ^A  GLIMPSE  OF  CUBA — APPROACH  TO   COLON  .  1-4 

CHAPTER  II.    . 

COLON,  THE  ATLANTIC  CITY  OF  THE  ISTHMUS — SITUA- 
TION— CLIMATE  —  SEASONS  —  HEALTH  —  MX.  HOPE, 
OB  MONKEY  HILL  .....  5-7 

CHAPTER  III. 

TRIP  ACROSS  THE  ISTHMUS — SCENES  AND  INCIDENTS 
— A  TROPICAL  DOWN-POUR — ARRIVAL  AT  PAN- 
AMA— A   COLOMBIAN  BUS — THE   GRAND   HOTEL  .  8-12 

CHAPTER  IV. 

MODERN  PANAMA — LOCATION  —  POPULATION —  SKETCH 

OF   EARLY  HISTORY,   ETC.  ....        13-15 

CHAPTER  V. 

LIFE  ON  THE  ISTHMUS — ITS  TRADE  AND  COMMERCE — 
CHIEF  INDUSTRY,  REVOLUTION — HOLIDAYS — BULL- 
TEASING  S  —  RELIGIOUS  PROCESSIONS  —  MARKET 
PLACE     •    .  ,  .  .  .  .  .        16-26 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  CHURCHES  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  RUINS  OF  MOD- 
ERN  PANAMA        ......        27-47 

vii 


Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


CIIAPTEP.  YII. 

SUBUnCS    OF    PANAMA — THE    SAVANXA — TTIK     CHURCH 
OF    SAN   MIGUEL — A   GLIMPSE   Or    THE   PAST 


4S-50 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

LIFE  AMONG  THE  LO'WLY  —  KANCUOS;  THEIR  CON- 
STKU^TION  AXI)  INMATES  —  MODES  OF  LIVING  — 
NO  DIVORCES  OR  SCANDALS— NATIVE  POTTERY — 
PRIMITIVE   OR  PASTORAL  LIFE 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  GULF  OF  PANAMA;  ITS  BEAUTIFUL  ISLANDS  AND 
OLD-TIME  PEARL  FISHERIES — FATE  OF  AN  AMER- 
ICAN PEARL  FISHING  EXPEDITION  —  POTTERY, 
STONE  IMPLEMENTS  AND  GOLD  ORNAMENTS  FROM 
PREHISTORIC  GKAVES — A  SKETCH  OF  THE  PAST  HIS- 
TORY OF   THE   ISLANDS   IN  THE   GULF   OF   PANAMA 


Gu- 


CHAPTER  X. 

PANAMA  VIEJO,  OR  OLD  PANAMA  —  SITE  —  GLIMPSE 
OF  PAST  HISTORY  —  DESTRUCTION  BY  MORGAN  — 
RUINS  —  CATHEDRAL  OF  ST.  ANASTASIUS  —  PRES- 
ENT  CONDITION    ......         77-08 

CHAPTER  XL 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  ISTHMUS,  OR  SANTA  MARIA 
DE  LA  ANT""UA  DEL  DARIEN — THE  FIRST  SEE  IN 
AMERICA — MINAS   DEL  REY — OLD   CANNON  .      99-106 

CHAPTER  XII. 

WHALE  FISHING  IN  THE  GULF  OF  PANAMA— WHALE- 
MEN OFF  PANAMA —  SOMETHING  ABOUT  THEIR 
OUTFITS,    ETC.        ......    107-114 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  SEASONS  ON  THE  ISTHMUS — TERRIFIC  THUNDER 
AND  LIGHTNING — DRY  SEASON  WEATHER — MOON- 
LIGHT AND  STARSHINE  —  THE  EFFECTS  OF  A 
STORM  ON  A  CANAL  EMPLOYE — ^EARLY^  MORNING 
IN  THE   DRY   AND   WET   SEASONS — ITALIAN   SKIES    .    115-119 


CONTEXTS.  IX 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

VITAL  STATISTICS — CEMETEKIES  —  MODES  OF  BUEIAL 
AXD  UNBUKIAL — THE  ISTHMUS  COXSIDEKED  A3  A 
DISEASE   PliODUCING    AND  DISTIilBUTING   CEXTKE   .    120-135 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  THE  ISTHMUS  OF  PAN- 
AMA— irS  COMMUNICATION  BY  STEAM  WIIH  VAKi- 
OUS  PORTS — PRODUCTS   OF   COLOMBIA  .  .    133-145 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  PANAMA  RAILWAY  —  DIFFI- 
CULTIES MET  IN  CONSTRUCTION — LOSS  OF  LIFE — 
ITS  COMPLETION  A  CREDIf  TO  AMERICAN  ENGI- 
NEERING  .......    140-153 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

CHINATOWN,  PANAMA  —  SHOPS  —  JOSS  HOUSE  —  MEN 
AND  WOMEN — CONFUCIAN  PHILOSOi'HY  QUO  AD 
CHRfSTIANirY  IN  TIMES  OF  DOUBT — THE  CHINA- 
MEN A  HARD-WORKING,  PEACEFUL  LOT — BLEND- 
ING OP  RACES      ......    157-162 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  LAWS  OF  COLOMBIA  AND  THEIR  APPLICATION  AT 
PANAMA — HOW  A  MAN  SUSPECTED  OF  MURDER 
WAS  SHOT  ON  SIGHT — A  SOLDIER  WHO  SHOT  A 
WOMAN— HIS  IMPRISONMENT — THE  PANAMA  PRIS- 
ON—SEVEN AMERICANS  IMPRISONED  NINE  MONTHS 
WITHOUT  REDRESS  —  NO  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT  — 
THE  CHAIN   GANG  AT  PANAMA  .  .  .    lGo-l()9 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  GREAT  EARTHQUAKE  OT  SEPTEMBER  T,  1882 — 
EFFECTS  AT  PANAMA,  CRUCES,  COLON,  AND  TO- 
BOQA — TIDAL  WAVE  IN  THE  GULF  OF  DARIEN — 
LOSS  OF  LIFE,  ETC. — EARLIER  EARTHQUAKES  IN 
COLOMBIA  ......    170-178 


CONTEXTS. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CARTHAGENA,  THE  CITADEL  OF  GOLDEN  CASTILE — 
ITS  FORTIFICATIONS — COST  TWO  HUNDRED  MILL- 
IONS —  CHURCHES  —  E  A1;LY  history  —  SITUATION 
— BARRANQUILLA  ON   THE  MAGDALENA  RIVER        .    179-1S7 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  FORTY-NINE,  OR  CALIFORNIA  DAYS  OF  PANAMA 
— THE  OLD  ROUTE  ACROSS  THE  ISTHMUS — REMI- 
NISCENCES  OF  EARLY  DAYS     ....   188-190 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  CHIRIQUI,  IN  THE  STATE  OF 
PANAMA  — -■  ITS  VOLCANOES,  SCENERY,  GUACA3 
AND  GUACALS — CONTENTS — CLIMATE  —  MESA  OK 
TABLE  LANDS — DAME  NATURE  AT  HOME — RAM- 
BLES IN  HER  HOT  HOUSES— ORCHIDS — ISLA  DE 
LAS  MUESTOS       ......   191-201 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A  SANCOCHO — EDUCATION  ON  THE  ISTHMUS— FIRES  IN 
I'ANAMA  AND  COLON — THE  PANAMA  CAFliS — CO- 
LOMBIAN ETIQUETTE  —  YELLOW  FEVER  AJMONG 
THE  CONSULAR  CORPS    .....   202-213 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A   GLIMPSE   OF   THE   EARLY   HISTORY    OF    THE   ISTHMUS 

-FORMER  CANAL   SCHEMES        ....   214-237 

CHAPTER  XXV, 

THE  PANAMA  CANAL — ITS  PRESENT  CONDITION  AND 
FUTURE — THE  ENTERPRISE  JUDGED  FROM  M.  DE 
LESSEPS'   OFFICIAL  STATEMENTS  .  .  •   238-287 


PREFACE. 

In  his  preface  the  author  usually  attempts  to  explain 
why  he  has  had  the  courage  to  inflict  a  new  work  on  a 
long  suffering  public.  He  instinctively  feels  that  he 
owes  that  public  an  apology,  and  he  proceeds  to  make  it 
with  any  materials  at  his  disposal.  It  is  either  that  his 
book  fills  a  "  want  long  felt,"  that  the  matter  is  of  para- 
mount importance,  or  some  equally  good  personal  rea- 
son. That  the  matter  is  his  "  pet  fad"  seldom  appears, 
at  least,  in  the  preface. 

Deferring  to  this  time-honoi'ed  custom,  and  having 
some  sense  of  culpability,  I  in  turn  must  explain  my 
relationship  with  what  follows.  For  many  years  I  have 
been,  and  am  still,  an  accredited  correspondent  of  The 
Gazette,  of  Montreal,  Canada,  a  paper  founded  in  1779. 
I  may  also  state  that  it  was  the  very  first  foreign  paper 
to  establish  a  resident  correspondent  at  Panama.  Quite 
apart  from  endless  columns  of  matter  on  things  Isth- 
mian— such  as  the  Canal,  the  earthquakes,  etc., — I  have, 
since  leaving  the  Isthmus,  written  a  series  of  sketches  on 
travel  in  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America  and  the 
West  Indies.     Apropos  of  Panama — in  a  rash  moment — 

I  said  to  a  friend,  "  I  shall  write  a  book  on  Panama."    I 

xi 


xii  PREFACE. 

did  not  fully  realize  my  rashness  until  later,  when 
friends  near  and  distant  asked,  ' '  When  is  the  book  com- 
ing out  ? "  For  a  long  time  I  was  as  fertile  in  my 
excuses,  as  M.  de  Lesseps  is  in  his  for  the  delay  in  open- 
ing the  Panama  Canal.  Unlike  that  Great  Undertaker, 
I  had  not  committed  myself  .to  a  specific  day,  month  or 
year.  Mine  was  the  diplomatic  7nanana,  of  the  Span- 
iard, or  that  mori'ow  that  seldom  dawns.  Later,  my 
friends  returned  to  the  charge ;  then  they  became  impa- 
tient, and  finally,  I  really  fear,  incredulous,  as  to 
whether  I  was  equal  to  my  promise ;  their  urgency  was 
such  that  I  felt  that  it  had  to  be  a  book  or  a  "  breach  of 
promise  case." 

My  residence  of  five  years  at  Panama— 1880  to  1885,  as 
a  practitioner  of  medicine,  together  with  my  knowledge 
of  Spanish  and  French,  gave  me  ample  facilities  for 
studying  the  natural  and  unnatural  in  my  surroundings. 
Since  I  gave  up  my  residence  on  the  Isthmus  I  have 
made  it  four  visits,  the  last  two  in  March  and  April 
respectively  of  this  year,  when  I  made  the  negatives  fur- 
nishing the  illustrations  for  this  book. 

While  there  as  the  resident  correspondent  of  The 
Gazette,  I  had  to  keep  alive  to  all  matters  of  interest  to 
the  general  public.  During  my  absences  from  the  Isth- 
mus I  have  received  much  reliable  information  relative 
to  it  and  the  Panama  Canal,  the  greater  part  of  it  from 
official  sources.  This  I  believe  justifies  me  in  thinking 
that  my  book  is  brought  down  to  date. 

In  the  following  pages  I  have  tried  to  include  all  that 


PREFACE.  xiii 

I  think  will  be  of  interest  to  the  general  public,  and  have 
essayed  to  give  my  readers  a  clear  idea  of  what  a  pains- 
taking visitor  may  note  both  at  old  and  modern  Panama. 
My  sketch  of  life  among  the  masses  I  trust  may  prove 
interesting,  if  not  novel.  The  upper  classes  in  all 
countries  are  much  the  same,  in  that  they  are,  in  a 
degree,  equally  intelligent  and  equally  pleasing. 

I  have  dwelt  on  the  past  of  the  Isthmus,  have  described 
its  present,  and  have  made  bold  to  forecast  its  future. 
If  my  frankness  ruffles  some  sensitive  critic  in  Colombia, 
I  may  safely  anticipate  his  strictures  by  stating  that  the 
value  of  his  critique  must  depend  upon  my  truthfulness. 
I  await  it  with  absolute  complacency.  Those  who  write 
laudatory  articles  or  books  make  a  transparent  bid  for 
popularity.  Woe  to  the  man  who  has  the  courage  of  his 
convictions,  and  who  dares  to  publish  the  truth  as  he 
understands  it. 

What  follows  is  largely  in  the  nature  of  a  personal 
nari-ative ;  where  it  is  otherwise  I  have  cited  my  author- 
ities. 

As  an  old  time  student  of  sanitary  science,  familiar 
with  its  rapid  development  of  late  years,  I  earnestly 
hope  that  the  most  powerful  machine  of  modern  times, 
whose  fire  is  smokeless — the  press — will  agitate  against 
the  disgraceful  and,  to  my  mind,  crimiijal  methods  that 
obtain  at  Panama  in  the  systematic  neglect  of  burial  of 
the  dead,  until  the  custom  has  become  a  thing  of  the 
past.  I  state  without  fear  of  contradiction,  and  with  all 
the  emphasis  that  our  mother  tongue  conveys,  that  the 


xiv  PREFACE. 

Isthmus  of  Panama  is  a  disease  producing  and  disease 
distributing  centre.  Why  should  it  be  allowed  to  graft 
sniall-pox  and  yellow  fever — as  it  has  done — on  commu- 
nities near  and  distant  ?  Such  practices  are  a  disgrace 
to  our  civilization  and  a  constant  menace  to  all  countries 
doing  business  with,  or  by  way  of,  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama. 

The  arrangement  of  the  subject  matter  may  seem 
novel,  but  I  wrote  two-thirds  of  my  book  before  intro- 
ducing what  may  be  deemed  wearisome  reading.  I 
regret  that  as  a  faithful  chronicler  of  events,  I  cannot 
condense  this  into  one  page,  and  put  that  just  inside  the 
last  cover. 

I  make  no  claim  for  my  first  attempt  at  book-making, 
save  that  it  reflects  my  views,  and  that  it  is  a  faithful 
and  accurate  account  of  the  subjects  presented. 

WoLFRED  Nelson. 

AsTOK  House,  N.  Y., 

October  10th,  1888. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

DEPAKTtJKE  FOR  COLON,  ISTHMUS  OF  PANAMA — AN  AMUSINO 
INCIDENT — WATLINO'S  ISLAND — CROOKED  ISLAND  PAS- 
SAGE—THE ISLAND  OF  NAVASSA — A  GLIMPSE  OF  CUBA — 
APPROACH  TO   COLON. 

At  high  noon  on  a  bright,  sunny  May  day  in  1880,  I 
stood  on  the  Canal  Street  pier  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steam- 
ship Company  ready  to  embark  for  California  by  way  of 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  The  vessel  soon  got  under  way, 
and  we  rapidly  passed  through  a  network  of  steamers 
and  shipping,  past  old  Trinity,  Castle  Garden,  and  the 
thousand  and  one  sights  familiar  to  all  who  know  New 
York.  There  were  a  good  many  saloon  passengers,  who 
in  an  incredibly  short  time  were  domiciled  with  their 
many  belongings  in  the  clean,  spacious  staterooms  of  the 
Colon.  The  voyage  was  fairly  begun,  and  eight  days  of 
it  were  ahead  of  us.  Life  on  all  ocean  steamers  is  much 
the  same.  To  old  travellers  the  meals  are  matters  of  the 
greatest  importance ;  next  a  soft  mattress  on  which  to 
come  to  anchor  at  night  to  think  over  the  events  of  the 
day,  and  speculate  on  what  the  breakfast  will  consist  of. 
One's  comfort  at  sea  depends  greatly  on  whether  he  is 
alone  or  doubled  up  with  others,  in  the  forced  intimacy 
of  two  or  three  in  a  room.  If  the  other  fellows  are  old 
travellers  and  jolly,  it  does  very  well.  Generally  they 
are  not,  and  will  look  at  each  other  as  much  as  to  say, 
"By  Jove!  what  are  you  doing  in  here?"  The  more 
educated  they  are,  the  more  aggressive  they  are  when 
unaccustomed  to  travelling.  They  bear  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  strange  curs  turned  loose  in  the  same  enclosure 

1 


2  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

— for  they  would  rather  have  a  row  than  otherwise.  It 
is  usual  for  a  great  many  to  seek  retirement  in  their 
staterooms  just  as  soon  as  the  vessel  begins  to  feel 
"lumps."  The  victims  of  7nal  de  mer  are  uncanny  to 
the  eye,  unpleasant  to  the  ear,  and  wholly  disappointing 
for  sentimental  or  artistic  effects. 

An  accident  to  two  of  our  fellow  passengers  excited  a 
great  deal  of  merriment.  There  was  a  fat,  a  very  fat 
and  jolly  broker  from  Wall  Street,  and  a  very  tall  and 
slight  civil  engineer,  both  on  their  way  to  the  Pacific 
Coast.  They  occupied  the  same  stateroom.  The  big  fat 
fellow  could  just  get  into  his  berth— of  course  it  was  the 
lower  one— which  he  filled  completely.  The  six-foot-two 
engineer  slept  above.  During  the  soft,  stilly  hours  of 
the  dogwatch  three  agonizing  cries  of  "  Steward!  "  were 
heard,  coming  from  the  fat  man.  A  female  in  her 
nightgown  rushed  into  the  saloon,  anxiously  inquiring  if 
the  vessel  were  going  to  the  bottom.  She  was  ignored 
and  the  cause  of  the  cries  investigated.  The  long  man's 
berth  had  given  way,  and  he  had  fallen  into  the  break 
after  the  manner  of  a  partly  closed  penknife.  This  in 
itself  would  have  been  of  small  moment,  had  not  his 
further  descent  been  checked  by  his  midship  section 
resting  on  the  stomach  of  the  Wall  Street  broker,  who 
naturally  resented  such  liberties.  Long-legs  was 
jammed  in  the  break  and  the  fat  chap  was  hemmed  in. 
Assistance  dislodged  the  civil  engineer,  and  peace  and 
order  were  restored. 

The  service  on  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamers  is  very  good. 
All  told  I  have  made  eleven  voyages  with  them  on  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific,  and  measuring  my  experience  on 
their  vessels  by  many  voyages  in  others,  I  can  safely  say 
that  there  are  no  better  officered  or  better  kept  ships 
afloat. 

The  first  land  we  got  a  glimpse  of  was  Watling's 
Island  or  San  Salvador  (Holy  Saviour),  the  first  land 
sighted  by  Christopher  Columbus  during  his  memorable 
voyage  in  October,  1492.* 

*  Washington  Irving's  "  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus." 


1.  Arch  ;  Ruins  of  St.  Anastasius,  Old  Panama. 
2.  Front  Street,  Colon,  Isthmus  of  Panama. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  3 

San  Salvador  is  a  small  island,  one  of  the  Bahamas. 
The  latter  is  a  chain  of  islands  and  islets  belonging  as 
every  one  knows  to  Old  England.  We  passed  through 
Crooked-Island  Passage,  a  stretch  of  the  sea,  between 
some  of  the  islands  of  this  group.  On  one  of  them  there 
is  a  lighthouse.  It  is  customary  for  steamers  to  leave 
something  for  the  light-keeper,  in  the  shape  of  a  few 
supplies  and  newspapers,  to  help  him  fill  in  his  time.  It 
must  be  a  lonely  place.  The  island  of  Navassa  has 
attained  some  fame  owing  to  its  deposits  of  guano.  It  is 
largely  shipped  to  the  Southern  United  States.  The  next 
land  was  the  eastern  end  of  Cuba,  "The  Queen  of  the 
Antilles,"  where  we  passed  Cape  Maisi  near  its  stone 
lighthouse.  Some  ninety-four  miles  to  the  east  lies 
Hayti,  "  The  Black  Republic,"  as  it  has  been  aptly 
named  by  Sir  Spenser  St.  John  in  his  admirable  book. 
What  with  eating,  sleeping,  walking,  reading  and  chat- 
ting, the  time  passed  away  rapidly,  and  getting  ready  to 
debark  at  Colon  was  next  in  order.  Having  been  told 
that  we  should  make  land  just  before  daybreak,  I  was 
up  shortly  after  half-past  four,  and  getting  on  deck 
before  the  gray  of  the  earliest  light  gives  place  to  day,  I 
saw  in  the  distance  mountains  whose  bases  were  envel- 
oped in  haze.  From  Captain  GrifRn,  whom  I  shall  ever 
remember  with  pleasure,  I  learned  that  they  were  the 
Andes  of  South  America.  As  the  good  ship  stood  on  her 
way,  to  my  astonishment  a  delightful  fragrance  filled 
the  air.  It  was  early  summer  on  the  Isthmus;  abun- 
dant rains  had  fallen,  all  nature  was  smiling,  and  the 
odor  was  from  millions  of  wild  flowers  and  flowering 
trees.  Such  of  my  readers  as  are  familiar  with  books 
on  travel  among  the  Spice  Islands  will  recall  the  fact 
that  the  crews  of  ships  in  those  seas,  fifty  to  a  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  from  land  have  noticed  the  same  de- 
lightful fragrance. 

Gradually  daylight  came.  The  sun  rose  higher  in  the 
sky,  the  haze  cleared  away,  and  we  entered  the  Bay  of 
Limon,  or  Navy  Bay,  as  some  charts  term  it.  Straight 
ahead  of  us  was  Colon.  The  island  takes  its  name  from 
Columbus,  the  word  Colon  being  the  Spanish  equivalent 


4  FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

for  Colombo,  the  name  of  the  great  discoverer.  He  was 
an  Italian  by  birth,  born  in  the  city  of  Genoa,  and  he  it 
was  who  named  Navy  Bay.  Before  us  were  many  piers, 
steamers,  ships,  and  the  usual  surroundings  of  ports, 
flanked  and  backed  by  palms,  and  back  of  the  whole  a 
dense  mangrove  swamp.  All  were  of  that  peculiar  tint 
of  light  green  to  be  seen  only  within  the  Tropics. 


Monument  to  Stephens,  CirAUNCEY,  and  Aspinwaij,,  Coloit, 
Atlantic  Side  of  Isthmus. 


CHAPTER  II. 

COLON,  THE  ATLANTIC  CITY  OF  THE  ISTHMUS — SITUATION — 
CLIMATE  —  SEASONS  —  HEALTH  —  MT.  HOPE  OB  MONKEY 
HILL. 

Colon  "as  is ",  is  not  Colon  " as  was."  The  Colon  of 
May  29,  1880,  when  I  landed  there,  was  totally  destroyed 
by  fire  on  the  31st  of  March,  1885,  during  a  revolution  on 
the  Isthmus,  involving  a  loss  of  $12,000,000.  It  was  the 
only  settlement  on  the  island,  which  on  some  charts  is 
called  Manzanillo.  It  is  of  a  coraline  formation,  built  by 
those  indefatigable  toilers  of  the  sea.  It  is  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  long  by  about  one-third  of  a  mile  wide,  with  a 
surface  slightly  above  the  sea  level,  perhaps  as  much  as 
three  feet ;  and  is  connected  with  the  Spanish  Main  by 
a  railway  embankment.  The  city  of  Colon  is  just  1980 
miles  from  the  city  of  New  York.  Its  main  street  faces 
the  railway  connecting  it  with  Panama  on  the  Pacific. 
In  1880  no  particular  class  of  architecture  called  for 
remark.  Two  buildings  with  Moorish  arches  above  and 
below  were  suggestive  of  things  Spanish.  The  majority 
of  the  buildings  or  shops  were  wooden,  and  these  were 
swept  away  in  the  fire.  The  place  was  hot  and  sickly  in 
the  dry  or  so-called  healthy  season,  and  was  death-deal- 
ing and  pestiferous  in  the  wet  season,  the  latter  lasting 
for  nearly  eight  months  of  the  twelve.  The  centre  of  the 
city  was  a  lagoon,  houses  being  built  all  around  and  over 
it.  Practically  it  had  no  outlet,  or  such  a  small  one  as 
to  be  of  no  use  in  changing  its  foul,  fermenting,  death- , 
dealing  waters.  In  front  of  the  main  street  were  the 
piers  of  the  various  steamship  companies. 

The  pleasant  part  of  Colon  was  called  "  The  Beach," 
well  away  from  the  city  and  that  lagoon.  Scattered 
along  this  were  many  charming  and  comfortable  homes 

5 


6  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

occupied  by  officers  of  the  Panama  Railroad,  the  steam- 
ship people,  and  others.  While  a  resident  of  Panama  I 
always  deemed  it  a  treat  to  go  to  the  Colon  side  of  the 
Isthmus  during  the  grand  moonlight  nights  of  the  dry 
season  and  walk  along  that  pretty  beach,  there  to  watch 
the  huge  rollers  as  they  came  in  fi-om  the  vast  Atlantic, 
raise  their  lofty  crests  to  meet  the  outer  coral  reef, 
break,  and  cover  the  shore  with  silvery  foam.  The  town 
had  and  has  a  very  pretty  church  that  was  built  by  the 
Panama  Railroad  Company  after  they  had  completed 
the  railroad.  It  is  a  gothic  edifice  of  classic  proportions, 
built  of  dark  stone  from  the  quarry  at  Bohio  Soldado  on 
the  line  of  the  Panama  Railroad.  I  have  been  informed 
that  it  was  consecrated  by  the  late  Bishop  Potter,  of 
New  York.  Beyond  the  church  and  on  the  common 
facing  the  famous  old  Washington— an  early  day  edifice 
— there  is  a  monument  or  shaft  that  likewise  was  built 
by  the  Panama  Railroad  people.  Its  base  bears  the 
names  of  Aspinwall,  Stephens  and  Chauncey,  the  pio- 
neers and  founders  of  the  Panama  Railway.  Within  the 
enclosure  facing  the  Washington  there  is  a  magnificent 
natural  growth  of  cocoanut  palms.  They  are  without 
doubt  the  most  graceful  trees  to  be  seen  within  the 
tropics.  Captain  Griffin,  of  the  Colon,  told  me  that 
there  were  over  one  hundred  varieties  in  the  state  of 
Panama. 

Beyond  the  church  is  the  Panama  Railway  hospital, 
facing  a  dense  growth  of  the  water  loving  mangrove. 
Its  rear  looks  out  on  the  sea. 

The  land  side  of  the  island  was  occupied  by  the  work- 
ing classes,  a  thoroughly  cosmopolitan  lot.  They  were 
of  all  kinds, — black,  white,  yellow, — native  and  foreign. 

Before  dismissing  Colon  let  me  revert  to  its  climate 
once  more,  as  climate  means  health  or  sickness.  Upon 
getting  to  Panama  the  Dean  of  the  Medical  Faculty,  a 
Colombian,  neatly  divided  the  seasons  as  follows.  He 
said  to  me  :  "First  you  have  the  wet  season,  lasting  from 
about  the  15th  of  April  to  the  15th  of  December,  when 
people  die  of  yellow  fever  in  four  or  five  days.  Next 
you  have  the  dry  or  healthy  season,  from  December  15, 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  7 

to  April  15,  when  people  die  of  pernicious  fever  in 
from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  hours."  Five  years  as  a 
practitioner  of  medicine  at  Panama  amply  confirmed  his 
views,  and  it  is  the  best  divison  of  the  seasons  that  I 
know  of.  And  apropos  of  climate,  sickness  and  dying,  a 
few  words  about  Mount  Hope,  or  Monkey  Hill ;  as  the  lat- 
ter has  become  the  final  resting-place  of  thousands.  It  is 
the  cemetery  on  the  Colon  side  of  the  Isthmus.  Mount 
Hope  is  its  baptismal  name,  and  ' '  Monkey  Hill "  is  its 
everyday  appellation.  It  is  reached  by  rail.  Funeral 
trains  are  as  much  an  institution  as  passenger  or  goods 
trains.  Since  the  advent  of  De  Lesseps'  canal  men  on  the 
28th  day  of  February,  1881,  thousands  upon  thousands 
have  been  buried  there.  During  two  seasons  of  epidemic 
it  is  said  that  the  burials  averaged  from  thirty  to  forty 
per  day,  and  that  for  weeks  together. 


CHAPTER   III. 

TRIP  ACROSS  THE  ISTHMUS — SCENES  AND  INCIDENTS— A  TROP- 
ICAL DOWNPOUR— ARRIVAL  AT  PANAMA — A  COLUMBIAN 
'bus — THE   GRAND  HOTEL. 

At  1  P.  M.  we  stepped  from  the  street  into  the  train  en 
route  for  Panama.  To  the  majority  of  us  all  it  was  novel. 
Leaving  Colon  we  crossed  the  embankment  leading  to 
the  main  land,  or  the  Spanish  Main  of  early  writers. 
On  our  right  there  was  an  immense  mangrove  swamp, 
one  mass  of  green ;  beyond  the  swamp  was  a  little  hill, 
and  then  more  low  land.  Later  we  passed  Monkey  Hill 
on  our  left.  The  tropical  jungle  became  thicker  and 
thicker ;  in  places  it  was  so  thick  as  to  be  absolutelj^  im- 
passable. Here  and  there  were  stretches  of  bananas. 
The  banana  plant  might  be  taken  for  a  young  tree  by 
the  inexperienced.  It  has  a  thick,  fleshy  stalk  with 
broad,  wide  leaves,  and  the  fruit  hangs  down  in  huge 
bunches.  These  banana  patches,  as  they  are  termed, 
were  interspersed  with  palms  and  other  vegetation. 
Here  and  there  a  native  rancho  or  hut  could  be  seen  on 
the  hillsides.  It  was  not  long  before  we  were  at  Gatun. 
To  our  right  we  got  a  glimpse  of  the  river  Chagres;  a 
peaceful  stream  in  the  dry  season,  but  often  during  the 
long,  wet  season  of  the  Isthmus  a  huge,  destructive  vol- 
ume of  water.  The  railway  there  follows  the  left  bank 
of  the  river  as  you  approach  the  Pacific.  Opposite  the 
small  station  and  just  across  on  the  opposite  bank  was 
the  Indian  hamlet  of  Gatun,  properly  so  called.  In  the 
foreground  were  innumerable  canoes,  hollowed  out  of 
logs,  drawn  up  on  the  beach.  In  those  days  Gatun  was 
a  mere  collection  of  native  huts  built  of  bamboos  thatched 
with  palms  or  oleanders.  It  was  a  wholly  novel  sight  to 
many  of  us,  and  recalled  pictures  of  such  huts  in  books 

8 


4         v^  W\ 


Episcopal  Church,  Colon  ;  Built  by  Panama  Railway. 


FIVE  TEAES  AT  PANAMA.  Q 

of  travel  in  Africa.  We  gradually  approached  the 
bridge  of  Barbacoas — the  word  is  from  the  Indian,  and 
signifies  a  bridge.  In  the  early  days  the  Indians  had 
spanned  the  stream  at  that  point  with  a  swinging  bridge 
constructed  of  withes.  The  Indians,  met  by  the  earhest 
Spanish  discoverers,  were  men  of  great  ingenuity,  fear- 
less, hospitable  and  brave.*  The  railway  bridge  at 
Barbacoas  is  of  iron ;  it  is  612  feet  long,  and  rests  on  sub- 
stantial stone  piers,  and  its  cost  was  $500,000.  During  tlio 
earthquake  of  September  7,  1882,  it  was  thrown  slightly 
out  of  line.  The  river  at  this  point  in  the  dry  season  is 
a  peaceful,  shallow  stream,  perhaps  200  feet  wide.  Dur- 
ing one  of  the  floods  in  1878  the  valley  of  the  Chagres 
was  overflown,  and  there  were  12  to  18  feet  of  water 
over  the  railway.  Beyond  the  bridge  were  trees  un- 
familiar to  me,  and  creepers  in  flower;  orchids  and 
palms  also  claimed  attention.  The  great  luxuriance  and 
density  of  the  vegetation,  including  palms,  bamboos  and 
cottonwoods,  become  noticeable  at  this  point.  The  cot- 
tonwood  especially,  a  huge  tree  witli  tremendous  flanges 
at  its  base,  is  a  characteristically  tropic  form  of  the  na- 
tive flora. 

Matachin  is  the  mid-section  of  the  railway,  and  there 
the  trains  crossed.  In  those  days  there  were  but  a  few 
ranchos  and  a  frajne  building  belonging  to  the  Panama 
Railroad  Company  here.  It  was  just  beyond  Gamboa 
that  I  made  my  first  acquaintance  with  a  tropical  down- 
pour. It  seemed  to  come  down  in  sheets;  such  rain  I 
never  had  seen  before,  for  it  was  almost  a  wall  of  water, 
and  so  dense  that  near  objects  along  the  side  of  the  line 
were  almost  indistinguishable.  It  passed  away  as  sud- 
denly as  it  came ;  and  then  the  sun  looked  forth  on  a  smil- 
ing forest  and  a  wealth  of  green  interspersed  with  beautiful 
flowers  of  the  richest  hue.  The  flowering  trees  and  vines 
suggested  all  sorts  of  fairy  eyries  in  the  labyrinths  of 
the  woods.  Not  far  from  Matachin  on  the  right  there  is 
a  once  famous  but  now  forgotten  hill.     It  is  named  Cerro 

*  Washington  Irving's  "  Spanish  Voyages  of  Discovery,"  and 
"  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus." 


10  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

Gigante  or  the  Big  Hill,  and  it  was  from  its  crest  that 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  first  saw  the  grand  old  Pacific  in 
the  early  morning  of  September  13,  1526.  As  all  stu- 
dents of  Spanish  history  are  aware,  he  was  the  discoverer 
of  that  ocean,  and  his  most  romantic  and  adventurous 
life  is  charmingly  told  in  Washington  Irving's  "Voyages 
of  Spanish  Discovery. " 

It  goes  without  saying  that  as  the  line  ascends  from 
the  coast,  winding  its  way  in  and  out  among  the  hills, 
there  are  changes  in  the  vegetation  owing  to  elevation. 
We  stopped  at  Emperador,  then  a  small  Indian  hamlet. 
There  we  met  venders  of  all  sorts  of  things.  The  ma- 
jority were  females,  and  they  were  pictures  in  them- 
selves. Their  extraordinary  dresses  with  the  flounces 
above  instead  of  below  were  a  revelation  to  us.  The 
women  had  black  skins  and  around  their  necks  hung 
chains  of  native  gold.  They  were  selling  bananas,  boiled 
eggs  and  other  eatables.  One  stout  wench  thrust  a 
bottle  of  lager  beer  at  our  party,  and  called  out  in  her 
best  English  "Englishman's  drink."  The  words  were 
little  short  of  libellous.  While  waiting  there  we  got  a 
glimpse  of  some  native  cliildren,  who  bore  a  strong  re- 
semblance to  the  potatoes  on  a  Parisian  bill  of  fare,  in 
that  they  were  au  naturel.  Four  or  five  stood  on  the 
embankment  above  us  clad  only  in  the  cuticular  cover- 
ing supplied  by  good  Dame  Nature  when  they  were 
ushered  into  a  rude  world.  There  were  a  number  of 
ladies  in  our  party,  who  affected  not  to  see  them,  but 
their  consciousness  was  self-evident.  Then  followed  a 
roar  of  laughter  that  was  absolutely  infectious.  These 
little  Colombians,  in  the  words  of  a  witty  American, 
were  clad  in  dirt,  a  garment  that  fitted  them  accurately 
during  life  and  rendered  burial  unnecessary.  Past  Em- 
perador is  Culebra,  i.  e.,  the  Serpent.  That  is  the  highest 
point  of  the  railway,  it  being  238  feet,  6  inches  above  the 
level  of  the  Pacific.  It  is  the  lowest  pass  in  the  Andes  in 
that  part  of  South  America.  Culebra  is  on  the  crest  or 
the  "divide,"  as  it  would  be  termed  in  the  Eockies. 
The  density  of  the  vegetation  there  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  rank  grasses  and  undergrowth  crowded 


FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA.  H 

down  to  the  very  rails.  Men  are  constantly  employed 
cutting  it  away.  It  has  been  stated  authoritatively  that 
if  the  Panama  Railroad  remained  unused  for  six  months 
the  whole  line  would  be  grown  over  and  covered  with 
tropical  jungle.  Having  passed  the  crest  we  commenced 
descending  and  stopped  at  Paraiso,  anglice  Farauise,  a 
charming  little  hamlet  on  the  mountain  side.  Onward, 
and  in  the  distance,  we  saw  Mount  Ancon,  a  small  vol- 
canic peak.  It  is  just  back  of  the  city  of  Panama,  and 
bears  the  same  relation  to  it  that  Mount  Royal  does  to 
Montreal,  Canada. 

Then  we  came  upon  more  swamps  and  more  man- 
groves and  black  soil.  Here  and  there  were  great  arms 
of  the  sea  or  "  sloughs,"  as  they  are  termed  in  California. 
At  high  water  they  are  filled ;  at  low  water  thej^  resemble 
great  muddy  ditches;  they  connect  with  the  Rio  Grande 
or  Grand  River,  some  two  miles  back  of  the  city  of  Pan- 
ama. One  of  them  was  within  a  few  feet  of  the  railway 
embankment.  Passing  a  small  Indian  village  on  the 
outskirts  of  Panama,  the  train  drew  up  in  the  old-time 
station  of  the  city.  We  disembarked  and  found  places 
in  a  huge  bus  that  was  drawn  by  rat-like  mules.  We 
were  driven  over  the  dirty,  uneven  streets,  past  houses 
of  known  and  unknown  architectural  beauty,  to  the 
Grand  Hotel.  The  disembarking  in  Panama  really  was 
depressing— such  ruin,  such  age,  such  desolation  after 
leaving  the  bright  and  cheerful  hotels  and  streets  of  well- 
kept  New  York ;  it  was  simply  awful,  and  the  presence 
of  yellow  fever  in  Colon,  with^jjmjiy_flags_^at  halfmast, 
and  its  presence  in  the  city  of  Panama,  did  not  make 
our  suiTOundings  any  more  cheerful.  To  be  a  faithful 
historian,  I  must  say  that  the  pigmy  like  mules  were 
well  beaten,  and  abused  in  Spanish.  The  fluency  of  our 
driver  and  the  mathematical  application  of  his  epithets 
rendered  us  speechless.  We  rattled  along  over  the 
dingy  steets,  past  the  old  church  of  Nuestra  Senora  de 
la  Merced,  into  the  Plaza  de  la  Catedral,  or  Cathedral 
Square,  and  stopped  at  one  of  the  side  entrances  of 
the  Grand  HoteL  The  latter,  a  huge  building,  occupied 
a  whole  block.    It  was  four  stories  high,  built  of  stone, 


1^  FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

and  so  large  and  so  spacious  as  to  arouso  my  astonish- 
ment. It  had  been  erected  by  an  ambitious  Frenchman, 
and  in  it  he  had  sunk  all  of  his  money.  It  was  an  edifice 
that  would  have  done  credit  to  any  city.  Within,  the 
rooms  and  table  were  fair,  but  it  was  malodorous  in 
many  ways. 


Canal  Cut  at  Empkkadok  ;  187  Feet  Above  Sea-level. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MODERN       PANAMA— LOCATION— POPULATION — SKETCH        OF 
EAKLY  HISTORY,   ETC. 

Modern  Panama  was  founded  in  1673  on  Villa  Corta. 
The  first  church  erected  within  the  city  was  that  of  San 
^Felipe,  over  whose  western  door  the  date,  "1688,"  will 
be  found.  Modern  Panama  is  therefore  over  two  cen- 
turies old.  Panama  was  made  a  walled  city;  the  walls 
costing  over  eleven  millions  of  dollars  some  two  hundred 
years  ago,  and  that  at  a  time  when  the  Indians  of  the 
country  were  little  better  than  Spanish  slaves.  In  many 
places,  notably  on  the  Battery,  the  walls  and  masonry 
in  general  are  in  excellent  order.  The  early  Spaniards 
were  magnificent  builders.  The  city  is  built  on  a  point 
of  volcanic  rock  jutting  well  into  the  bay,  and  it  was 
specially  selected  as  a  site  for  a  walled  city,  in  order  to 
be  safe  against  the  fate  that  destroyed  old  Panama.  As 
recently  as  1849,  in  the  days  of  the  California  gold  fever, 
a  deep  moat  crossed  the  city's  front  facing  Mount 
Ancon.  The  moat  passed  from  a  point  on  the  Bay  of 
Panama  past  the  famous  old  church  of  La  Merced  to 
another  point  in  the  bay  beyond.  On  the  city  side  were 
huge  walls  and  the  old  time  gate  and  drawbridge.  To- 
day the  greater  part  of  the  walls  have  been  removed,  and 
in  their  place  one  sees  a  continuous  street.  To  the  left 
of  the  main  road  beyond  La  Merced,  some  of  the  walls 
still  can  be  seen  with  the  old  time  embrasures  for  guns. 

Panama  was  a  stronghold  of  Spain  for  many  de- 
cades. The  hundreds  of  millions  of  treasure  that  were 
stored  there  seem  almost  unreal  to  us  now,  but  they 
were  substantial  enough  in  fact,  for  in  those  days  Spain 
was  the  sole  mistress  of  the  seas. 

There  is  a  story  of  a  king  of  Spain  who  once  while 

13 


14  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

looking  from  a  window  in  his  palace,  shielded  his  eyes 
with  his  hand.  A  minister  who  was  present  noticed 
the  act,  and  the  king  said,  "  I  am  looking  for  the  walls 
of  Panama,  for  they  have  cost  enough  to  be  seen  even 
from  here." 

The  main  Plaza  or  square  of  Panama  in  1880  was  in 
the  exact  heart  of  the  city.  Standing  at  the  Grand 
Hotel  facing  the  Plaza,  by  looking  across  the  street  to 
our  left,  we  see  an  old  time  building.  It  is  the  Cabildo, 
or  town  hall,  a  building  dear  to  all  Colombians,  as  being 
the  spot  within  which  they  signed  their  declaration  of 
independence  following  the  throwing  off  of  the  Spanish 
yoke.  The  hotel  and  Cabildo  complete  that  side  of  the 
square.  Directly  opposite  the  hotel  was  the  Bishop's 
Palace,  a  modern  building  approaching  completion  in 
1880,  four  stories  in  height,  and  of  a  handsome  archi- 
tectural design.  The  then  resident  bishop  was  one  of 
Colombia's  most  talented  sons.  Bishop  Paul,  now  arch- 
bishop of  Colombia,  with  residence  in  the  Federal  capital 
of  Sante  Fe  de  Bogota.  This  is  the  oldest  archbishopric 
in  the  three  Americas  ;  the  first  church  in  America  hav- 
ing been  built  in  Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua  del  Darien, 
a  spot  not  very  far  from  old  Panama,  out  on  the  Atlantic 
side  of  the  Isthmus.  Returning  to  the  city,  opposite  the 
Cabildo  is  one  of  the  old  time  Colombian  stone  houses, 
three  stories  high,  with  balconies,  and  covered  with  red 
tiles.     Such  buildings  generally  are  whitewashed. 

The  Cathedral  of  Panama  is  to  the  left  of  the  Grand 
Central  Hotel.  A  well-known  writer  *  states  that  it  is 
of  the  early  renaissance,  but  he  is  mistaken.  The  build- 
ing has  two  lofty  stone  towers,  of  a  pure  Moorish  type, 
whose  doines  are  covered  with  the  cement  for  which  the 
early  Spaniards  were  famous,  and  in  which  are  embedded 
hundreds  of  pearl  shells  with  the  pearly  side  out.  They 
are  worked  up  in  various  designs  on  a  field  of  red 
cement.  Although  having  been  exposed  for  upwards  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty -eight  years,  still  on  a  bright, 
sunshiny  day  the  sun's  rays  are  reflected  from  them. 

*  Trollop's  "  Spanish  Main  and  West  Indies." 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  16 

The  front  or  fagade  of  the  cathedral  is  attractive. 
There  are  huge  doors,  columns,  niches  for  the  twelve 
apostles,  and  one  above  for  the  Virgin.  The  edifice  is 
built  of  a  yellow  stone  strongly  resembling  sandstone. 
Over  the  main  entrance  there  is  a  double  cross,  the  em- 
blem of  a  Bishop's  see.  Opposite  the  cathedral  in  the 
days  referred  to  (1880)  there  were  the  ruins  of  the  old 
Grand  Central  Hotel,  a  building  that  had  been  badly 
damaged  by  the  great  earthquake  of  1858.  Later  the 
old  Grand  Central  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

In  1880  the  Plaza  was  divided  into  four  minor  squares 
by  intersecting  streets,  one  leading  across  the  city  from 
wall  to  wall,  the  other  being  a  part  of  the  long  axis  of 
the  city.  Facing  on  the  Plaza  and  in  some  of  the  streets 
in  that  vicinity,  are  the  principal  shops. 

All  the  churches  are  within  the  city  except  two,  the 
first  being  that  of  Santa  Ana  in  the  Plaza  of  that  name. 
It  was  a  suburban  church,  built  some  two  centuries  ago 
by  a  wealthy  Spanish  nubleman,  whose  family  name  was 
St.  Ana.  Back  of  it,  and  near  the  entrance  to  the  Quinta 
Santa  Rita,  there  are  the  ruins  of  its  old  chapel  of  ease. 
The  Quinta  is  a  charming  spot  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Ancon,  and  is  the  property  of  M.  Leblanc,  who  made 
himself  famous  during  the  first  visit  of  De  Lesseps  to  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama.  He  told  Le  Grande  Frangais  that 
if  he  attempted  the  construction  of  a  canal  across  the 
Isthmus,  there  would  not  be  trees  enough  there  to  make 
crosses  to  place  over  the  graves  of  his  laborers.  M. 
Leblanc  was  an  old  timer  and  knew  what  he  was  saying. 
Thousands  and  thousands  of  canal  men  have  been  buried 
on  the  Isthmus,  many  of  whose  graves  are  marked  by 
crosses,  while  many  others  are  without  any  crosses  at  all. 

I  reached  Panama  City  on  the  29th  day  of  May,  1880. 
It  then  had  a  population  estimated  at  fifteen  thousand ; 
the  majority  being  black.  Negroes,  Indians,  mulattoes, 
— and  a  blending  of  both  races,  witli  some  Chinese.  Per- 
haps there  were  as  many  as  two  thousand  whites  on  the 
Isthmus.  The  principal  trade  of  the  Isthmus  was  then, 
as  it  is  now,  in  the  hands  of  foreigners,  with  foreign 
enterprise  and  foreign  capital. 


CHAPTER  V. 

LIFE  ON  THE  ISTHMUS — ITS  TRADE  AND  COMMEKCE — CHIEF 
INDITSTEY  KEVOI-UTION  —  HOLIDAYS  —  liULL-TEASINGS  — 
KKLIGIOUS   PKOUESSIONS — MAKKET-PLACE. 

An  American  once  wrote  his  Consul-General  in  Rio  de 
Janeiro  asking  for  information  in  reference  to  the  cli- 
mate of  Brazil,  and  closed  his  letter  thus:  "  How  do  peo- 
ple live?  "  The  Consul-General  wittily  replied  that  it  all 
depended  on  the  liver.  In  Panama,  and  on  the  Isthmus 
generally,  all  does  depend  upon  the  liver. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  a  regular  life  in  all  torrid 
climates  is  its  own  reward.  By  a  regular  life  I  mean 
something  after  the  following,  which  is  the  regime 
of  many  residents  within  tropical  countries:  Getting 
up  early—  say  at  six  or  seven — beginning  the  day  Avith  a 
bath,  and  then  coffee  and  rolls.  The  breakfast  is  eaten 
at  eleven  or  twelve,  and  is  a  breakfast,  properly  so 
called.  In  temperate  climates  many  would  deem  it 
dinner.  I,  in  common  with  many  old  residents  of  the 
tropics,  began  mine  by  taking  some  ripe  fruit,  follow- 
ing it  with  a  beefsteak,  potatoes  and  coffee.  I  made  my 
meals  simple ;  such  resulting  in  the  greatest  good  and 
the  smallest  inconvenience.  Dinner  at  six,  and  dinner 
as  it  is  understood  in  all  Anglo-Saxon  countries,  followed 
by  a  quiet  evening  and  going  to  bed  early.  The  regular 
life  pays  always  ;  it  gives  the  maximum  of  health  and 
the  minimum  of  inconvenience.  Many  would  vote  such 
a  life  slow.  Maybe  it  is,  but  it  keeps  one's  disease-re- 
sisting powers  up  to  the  highest  standard,  and  is  a 
source  of  continual  comfort. 

A  word  in  reference  to  the  use  of  alcohol,  beer  and 
wine.  From  my  professional  experience,  and  as  the 
result  of  nearly  eight  years  personal  observation  within 

16 


Canal  Cut,  Culebka  ;  369^  Feet  Above  Sea-level. 


FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA.  17 

the  tropics,  and  having  tried  both  moderate  stimulation 
on  the  one  hand,  and  total  abstinence  on  the  other,  I 
am  firmly  of  the  opinion,  that  the  people  who  best  resist 
such  wretched  climates  and  make  the  best  fight  against 
disease,  are  the  total  abstainers. 

The  yellow  fever  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  is  a  pecul- 
iarly malignant  disease.  I  can  recall  forty-one  admis- 
sions to  the  Charity  Hospital  in  a  few  weeks  following 
my  arrival  on  the  Isthmus  in  1880.  Not  a  single  man 
escaped.  Of  seven  and  twenty  admissions  to  the  Offi- 
cers' Ward  of  the  Canal  Hospitals  on  the  Panama  side, 
one  man  only  escaped.  In  case  after  case  in  practice, 
death  was  the  rule  and  recovery  the  exception.  While 
it  is  true  that  some  total  abstainers  on  the  Isthmus  have 
been  swept  away  by  yellow  fever,  I  can  recall  three 
desperate  cases,  one  being  my  own,  which  had  been 
abandoned  and  in  which  death  was  looked  for.  All 
recovered,  thanks  to  abstemious  habits. 

The  idea  that  any  human  being  in  hot  climates  re- 
quires alcohol  is  an  old  time  myth,  kept  up  by  those 
who  like  to  drink.  No  fact  is  better  known  to  every 
student  of  tropical  disease  than  that  the  liver  of  even 
total  abstainers  becomes  somewhat  enlarged.  "Why," 
say  you  ?  Remember  the  constant  malarious  conditions ; 
and  bear  in  mind  that  in  temperate  climes  the  organs 
have  their  own  fair  share  of  work.  In  the  tropics, 
immediately  within  the  malarial  and  yellow  fever  belt, 
where  there  is  such  extreme  heat  and  constant  moisture, 
the  lungs  are  unable  to  do  all  of  their  share,  and  a  part 
of  it  falls  upon  the  liver.  In  keeping  with  well-known 
physiological  laws  this  becomes  slightly  enlarged.  Life 
within  the  tropics  therefore  does  ' '  depend  on  the  liver, " 
as  the  quick-witted  Consul-General  at  Rio  said. 

Another  point  in  this  connection.  There  is  a  general 
belief  held  by  many  highly  intelligent  people  that  a  resi- 
dence within  hot  countries  has  a  marked  tendency  to  in- 
crease the  sexual  instincts.  Such  is  not  the  case.  The  real 
explanation  of  it  is  this.  The  majority  are  away  from 
the  refining  influences  of  early  culture  and  home  life, — 
generally  they  are  single  men, — in  a  warm  climate  where 
2 


13  FIVE  YEAnS  AT  PANAMA. 

all  the  conditions  are  sujiposed  to  produce  general  relax- 
ation. There  is  little  society  open  to  such  ir^cn.  If 
they  become  "one  of  the  boys."— and  the  vast  majority 
do,  that  is  the  end  of  it,  and  generally  of  them  too, 
for  this  means  late  hours,  gambling  and  other  distrac- 
tions, largely  pour  passer  le  temps.  Such  men  readily 
become  victims  to  disease.  No  fact  is  better  known  to 
students  of  yellow  fever  than  that  the  very  moderate 
drinkers — men  who  have  never  been  seen  under  the 
induence  of  liquor— are  among  the  earliest  victims  in  all 
epidemics  of  yellow  fever,  and  they  are  lost  from  the 
start.*  I  wish  my  readers  to  understand  that  I  am  in 
no  sense  a  temperance  lecturer,  nor  am  I  a  total  ab- 
stainer, properly  so  called ;  I  simply  deal  with  the  actual 
facts. t  Dr.  Johnson,  J  in  his  admirable  book,  summa- 
rizes the  whole  thing  when  he  discusses  his  life-long 
experience  in  the  East  Indies.  He  refers  to  the  loss  of 
home  or  corrective  influences,  and  the  attractive  divei*- 
sions  that  at  first  are  pleasurable  and  finally  entangle 
the  victim  in  chains  of  his  own  forging.  He  discusses 
the  whole  question  as  one  would  expect  of  a  man  of  his 
high  intelligence  and  vast  experience ;  and  he  manfully 
calls  a  spade  a  spade.  Referring  to  his  long  experience 
in  India,  both  in  military  and  civil  circles,  he  dwells  on 
the  idle  life,  highly  seasoned  food,  constant  stimulation, 
and  want  of  exercise  and  healthy  employment  of  body 
and  mind,  and  then  in  a  masterly  way  clearly  shows 
how  these  lead,  to  vices  and  bad  livers;  and  how  the 
English  damn  the  climate,  which  is  bad  enough  in  all 
conscience,  while  they  should  damn  themselves.  These 
moderate  drinkers  take  their  pegs,  maybe  two  or  three 
a  day.  A  "peg"  is  a  good  stiff  dose  of  brandy  and  a 
bottle  of  English  soda  Avater;  the  name  "peg"  being  a 
reference  to  another  nail  in  their  cotRns.  The  people 
who  indulge  in  these  pegs  are  not  laying  up  treasure  for 

*  Article  on  Yellow  Fever,  A^ol.  II.,  Ziemsen's  Eucyclopsedia  of 
Medicine. 

t  Ninth  Biennial  Report,  Board  of  Health,  State  of  California,  188G; 
Article  on  Yellow  Fever. 

t  "  Diseases  of  Hot  Climates,"  London,  1846. 


FIVE  YEAIIS  AT  PANAMA.  19 

themselves  above;  quite  the  contrary.  Later  they  will 
be  harnessed  to  a  liver  that  will  make  their  lives  a  bur- 
den to  themselves  and  to  their  families.  The  moral  of 
all  this  is:  Keep  out  of  the  tropics  if  you  can.  Should 
necessity  force  you  within  them  avoid  all  forms  of 
alcohol,  that  you  may  spend  your  later  days  in  peace 
and  comfort.  Anyone  who  has  travelled  extensively  in 
the  tropics — I  refer  to  the  West  Indies  and  the  tropical 
portions  of  Central  and  South  America — can  tell  you  of 
dozens  of  noble  young  fellows  who  have  gone  thither  to 
seek  fame  and  fortune,  but  who  have  been  wrecked 
almost  at  the  outset  by  the  general  relaxation,  which 
ignorant  people  charge  to  the  effects  of  the  climate, 
instead  of  attributing  it  to  bad  associates,  wine  and 
women.  The  climate  is  not  responsible;  the  mortality 
is  due  to  want  of  fii-mness  and  those  corrective  influ- 
ences so  necessary  for  the  best  of  us. 

The  trade  and  commerce  of  Panama  and  vicinity  is 
made  up  largely  of  goods  in  ti'ansit  from  and  to  various 
parts  of  the  world.  Products  from  the  Pacific  lands 
cross  the  Isthmus  from  Panama  to  Colon,  there  to  be 
distributed  to  the  various  steam  companies  for  the  West 
Indies,  Europe,  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
Canada.  Those  by  way  of  Colon  to  Panama  are  handed 
over  to  the  steam  carriers  on  the  Pacific  going  South  to 
Chili  and  Peru,  north  to  Central  America  and  San 
Francisco,  and  from  the  latter  to  trans-Pacific  ports. 
The  local  trade  of  the  State  of  Panama  is  largely  sup- 
plied from  the  city  of  Panama.  The  State  of  Panama  is 
the  extreme  northern  end  of  South  America,  and  termi- 
nates in  the  Departments  of  Chiriqui  and  Veraguas, 
where  the  latter  join  the  southern  boundary  of  Costa 
Rica,  or  the  extreme  Southern  Republic  of  Central 
America. 

A  few  years  ago  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  the 
Isthmus  was  the  exportation  of  crude  India  rubber.  Its 
value  in  those  days  was  considerable,  and  against  such 
consignments  the  merchants  of  Panama  and  Colon  drew 
their  bills  of  exchange.  The  Isthmus  of  Darien  to  the 
northeast  of  the  State  of  Panama,  was  one  of  the  chief 


20  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

departments  furnishing  that  elastic  gum.  Ivory  nuts 
were  also  an  important  item,  the  latter  the  fruit  of  a 
species  of  palm. 

The  State  of  Panama  is  more  of  a  consumer  than  a 
producer.  It  will  be  literally  true  to  say  that  her  daily 
bread  depends  on  flour  from  San  Fi-ancisco  and  New 
York ;  and  the  same  thing  is  true  of  the  greater  part  of 
her  provisions  and  vegetables  of  all  kinds.  The  trade  and 
importance  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  are  due  merely  to 
its  situation.  Her  nianuiactures  are  now,  as  all  indus- 
ti'ies  are,  handicapped  by  preposterous  concessions.  One 
day  the  question  was  asked  in  my  hearing,  ' '  What  is 
the  leading  industry  of  Colombia  ? '"  A  quick-witted, 
talented  Colombian  instantly  replied,  "Revolution." 
So  it  is.  It  is  at  once  a  profession,  a  science,  and  a  game. 
Dr.  Rafael  Nunez,  the  President  of  the  Republic  of 
Colombia,  denounced  it  as  a  profession  in  the  summer  of 
1884,  while  I  was  a  resident  of  Panama  City.  The  last 
revolution  of  March,  J  885,  destroyed  Colon,  paralyzed 
canal  work,  upset  transit,  and  caused  a  veritable  reign 
of  terror,  and  undoubtedly  would  have  led  to  the  de- 
struction of  Panama  but  for  the  prompt  action  of  the 
British  and  American  Consuls.  The  first  man-of-war 
there  was  a  British  one,  and  later  American  vessels  of 
war  arrived  in  numbers,  when  Consul-General  Thomas 
Adamson,  representing  the  intei-ests  of  that  great  re- 
public to  the  north,  took  prompt  action,  and  it  was  he 
who  saved  the  city  of  Panama  from  the  fate  that  de- 
stroyed Colon. 

The  holidays  on  the  Isthmus  are  a  feature  worthy  of 
lengthy  description.  They  are  the  breaks  in  a  monoto- 
nous life.  The  festival  par  excellence  is  that  of  the  28th 
of  November,  or  the  anniversary  of  the  signing  of  their 
declaration  of  independence.  The  28th,  29th  and  the 
30th  of  November  are  devoted  to  bull-teasings,  horse 
races,  masquerading,  and  other  sports.  During  one  of 
these  festivals  a  huge  circle  or  temporary  bull  ring  was 
put  up  in  the  Plaza  de  Santa  Ana,  outside  the  walls. 
It  was  a  substantial  structure  fenced  in.  Above  Avere 
covered-in  palcos,   or  boxes.      One  of   these  could   be 


t'lVE  TEARS  AT  PAKAMA.  31 

secured  for  the  fiestas  or  holidays  upon  payment  of 
eighteen  dollars,  the  holders  being  at  liberty  to  put  in 
as  many  as  six  chairs.— You  have  to  furnish  your  own 
chairs  there  both  for  bull  fights  and  theatres,  or  stand. 
The  bull-teasings  next  to  the  horse  races  are  the  events. 
If  your  palco  or  box  is  good,  the  whole  scene  passes 
directly  beneath  you,  just  as  it  does  in  Madrid.  On  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  the  animals  are  not  killed ;  they  are 
teased.  A  bull,  the  points  of  whose  horns  have  been 
sawn  oflE,  is  led  into  the  inclosure.  Men  specially 
selected  and  paid  do  the  teasing.  The  bulls  are  from  the 
country  and  generally  are  fresh  and  ready  for  combat, 
but,  as  the  points  of  the  horns  are  cut  away,  gorings 
are  not  in  order.  One  of  these  dare-devil  torreras  flaunts 
a  strip  of  some  red  material  at  the  bull.  The  animal,  if 
game,  makes  a  furious  charge  when  the  man  deftly  steps 
aside  and  avoids  the  attack.  It  goes  on  and  on.  At 
times  four  and  five  of  these  men  may  be  seen  exciting 
the  animal.  Often  the  men,  if  new  to  the  work  and 
careless,  are  thrown  down,  trampled  upon,  or  thrown  up 
into  the  air,  when  the  others  immsdiately  divert  the 
animal  and  drag  the  man  aside.  At  all  such  festivities  a 
band  is  in  attendance,  generally  that  of  some  regiment 
in  the  garrison.  Whenever  the  slightest  mishap  occurs, 
either  to  the  men  or  to  the  bull,  the  multitude  cheer 
madly,  the  band  plays,  and  the  wildest  enthusiasm  pre- 
vails. It  is  quite  Spanish.  After  half  an  hour  or  more 
the  bull  is  fagged  out,  when  to  stimulate  the  unfortunate 
animals  the  banderilleros  are  called  in.  They  are  men 
who  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  teasing.  They  are 
armed  with  a  cruel  shaft.  This  is  of  wood  some  eighteen 
inches  long,  with  a  barbed  iron  head  securely  fastened 
to  it.  At  the  other  end  of  the  shaft  amid  colored  papers 
and  ribbons,  fireworks  are  concealed.  The  man  attracts 
the  attention  of  the  bull  and  at  the  right  moment,  when 
the  animal  charges  him,  he  deftly  thrusts  the  bander- 
illero  between  the  horns  and  drives  it  into  the  animal's 
neck.  I  should  say  that  he  has  previously  lighted  the 
fuse  from  his  everlasting  cigarretto.  Having  successfully 
placed  his  shaft  he  steps  aside.    In  bull-teasing  this  is 


22  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

an  exceedingly  dangerous  part  of  the  play.*  The  fuse 
burns  to  the  large  detonating  masses.  They  go  off  with 
the  report  of  a  gun ;  they  burn  the  hair  and  flesh  of  the 
infuriated  animal,  who  at  times  madly  roars,  jumps 
clean  off  the  ground,  and  vainly  endeavors  to  get  clear 
of  the  Spanish  infernal  machine.  This  causes  the  wildest 
uproar.  The  crowd  is  frantic  with  joy.  During  one 
carnival  season  I  saw  the  bull  resting  against  an  in- 
closure  after  the  torture,  when  a  native  got  on  the  top 
rail  and  cut  the  barbed  shaft  out  leaving  a  wretched 
wound  and  huge  burn.  This  literally  devilled  beef  is 
later  on  killed  and  marketed,  as  is  usual  there.  The 
animals  are  furnished  to  the  authorities  by  the  leading 
butchers  of  Panama. 

Well  do  I  remember  my  first  bull  -  teasing.  The  scene 
below  me  caused  intense  nervous  excitement,  and  when 
the  unfortunate  animal  tossed  a  banderillero  I  exclaimed 
aloud,  "Good,  good,"  my  sympathy  being  wholly  with 
the  bull,  not  with  his  cruel  tormentor.  As  an  inclosure 
is  an  exception  to  the  rule,  accidents  often  happen,  for 
the  teasings  take  place  in  the  square  and  the  throngs  are 
all  around  its  sides  at  any  point  of  vantage.  Occa- 
sionally the  bull  makes  a  charge  toward  the  crowd, 
when  there  is  a  rush,  and  often  serious  accidents  happen. 
I  have  seen  a  man  knocked  senseless.  Later  on  the 
same  day  the  animal  charged  out  on  the  side  street  and 
all  but  killed  a  passer-by.  The  buU-teasings  last  two 
and  three  days.  They  are  alternated  with  horse-races 
and  masquerades. 

The  races  often  are  held  on  the  main  thoroughfare, 
when  many  fearful  croppers  are  witnessed,  due  to  the 
animals  falling  or  running  over  foolish  people  and 
children  who  attempt  to  cross  the  street  while  the  races 
are  going  on.  Accident  after  accident  and  death  after 
death  have  been  caused  in  this  way.  The  Colombians, 
like  the  Central  and  South  Americans  and  Mexicans,  are 
natural  horsemen;  they  ride  as  if  they  were  a  part  of 
the  horses,  and  at  times  without  saddles,  at  a  pace  that 

*  "Voyage  en  Espague,"  Gauthier,  Paris,  1840. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANA3IA.  23 

is  simply  appalling.  Thousands  frequent  the  races. 
The  people  conie  up  to  Ihs  city  froui.  the  surrounding 
pueblos  or  villages  to  be  preseiit  for  the  festivities. 
These  large  masses  encourage  the  reckless  riders,  and 
intoxicated  by  the  applause  they  pass  on  to  victory, 
broken  bones,  or  whatever  is  ahead ;  it  is  their  way. 

A  masquerading  scene  there  is  quite  in  keeping  with 
what  I  have  noted  in  St.  Thomas,  Cuba,  and  Hayti. 
Nothing  gives  a  negro  or  his  descendants  such  intense 
pleasure  as  to  don  a  mask  and  an  outlandish  gai-b,  and 
amble  about  the  streets  singing  and  talking  in  wretched 
falsetto  voice.  If  he  can  secure  a  few  white  on-lookers 
it  is  ecstasy.  They  caricature  everything;  no  character 
is  sacred— sisters  of  charity,  priests  or  anyone.  For 
the  three  days  of  the  festivals  and  well  into  the  night, 
they  and  their  monkey-like  pranks  and  shrill  voices 
may  be  seen  and  heard.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  drunk- 
enness. Our  fisticuffs  are  replaced  by  stabbing  and 
cutting.  A  native  spirit  called  anisado  produces  more 
drunkenness  and  more  drunken  frenzy  to  the  square 
inch  than  anything  that  I  have  seen  anywhere.  When 
the  negroes,  mulattoes  and  Indians  reach  that  stage 
they  are  ugly  and  bloodthirsty.  It  is  not  unusual  for 
the  fiestas  to  result  in  five  or  six  deaths,  apart  from 
wounds  innumerable. 

They  all  cari-y  the  machete.  This  is  a  long,  sword-like 
knife,  the  inseparable  companion  of  all  the  lower  classes. 
It  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  swords  of  the  early 
Spaniards  who  had  to  cut  their  way,  the  atrochar  or 
trail,  while  going  through  the  woods.  The  natives  use 
these  wen  pons  for  chopping  wood,  felling  trees,  cutting 
grass  and  each  other.  They  make  beautiful  surgery  for 
a  doctor.  The  masses  in  Panama  are  little  better  than 
semi-civilized,  and  when  more  than  half  drunk  they  are 
absolute  savages.  After  three  days  of  "  festivities  "  and 
unbridled  license  among  the  lower  classes,  the  city 
gets  back  to  its  usual  calm,  and  the  cries  of  "Viva 
Colombia,"  or  "Hail  Colombia,"  are  put  away  for  the 
next  occasion. 

While  at  Panama  in  March  last  I  accompanied  a  party 


24  ^IVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

of  friends  to  see  a  night  procession  from  the  historic 
Church  of  St.  Ana.  With  a  fearful  clanging  of  bells  the 
procession  came  out  from  the  side  door  of  the  church. 
In  front  there  was  a  huge  frame,  perhaps  sixteen  feet 
long  by  six  wide,  on  which  were  built  up  a  series  of 
shelves  covered  with  highly  colored  cloths.  On  these 
were  lamps,  images,  and  vases  of  flowers,  the  whole  sur- 
mounted by  a  large  figure  of  the  Virgin,  resplendent  in 
muslin  and  gilt,  amidst  a  blaze  of  light.  The  procession 
was  preceded  by  no  end  of  women  with  candles  in  their 
hands.  I  failed  to  ascertain  what  connection,  if  any, 
existed  between  them  and  the  wise  virgins  that  we  read 
of.  Then  came  the  bearers  of  the  Virgin  and  after  them 
the  clergy,  all  singing.  A  member  of  our  party,  to  my 
mind,  summarized  the  whole  thing  when  he  said,  "It 
looks  like  a  lamp  shop  on  leave  of  absence."  It  is  need- 
less to  observe  that  we  uncovered  as  it  went  by. 
*'  When  among  the  Romans,"  etc.  Late  in  the  fall  there 
is  a  great  religious  procession  somewhat  of  this  type, 
when  hundreds  may  be  seen  carrying  candles,  and  the 
Virgin  and  many  of  the  saints  are  carried  about  in  great 
state.  The  eve  of  Good  Friday  is  made  a  special  festival 
in  the  church  La  Merced. 

A  figure  of  Christ  may  be  seen  resting  on  its  back,  just 
without  the  chancel,  Avith  its  head  towards  the  main 
altar.  It  is  a  life-like  figure ;  the  head  is  covered  with  a 
shock  of  hair;  both  feet  protrude  from  beneath  the 
robes;  the  crowd  surges  forward  and  one  by  one  rever- 
ently drop  upon  their  knees  and  kiss  the  right  foot,  gen- 
erally the  great  toe.  I  can  here  state  for  an  absolute 
fact  that  the  great  toe  of  the  left  foot  has  been  greatly 
worn  away  by  this  custom.  While  this  is  going  on 
crowds  in  the  church  composed  of  women  and  led  by 
some  awful  looking  old  crone,  a  negress  or  a  mulattress, 
keep  on  repeating  endless  prayers.  It  is  Babel.  One 
year,  while  a  resident  of  Panama,  I  took  an  elderly 
Welshman  around  to  see  the  churches  on  the  eve  of 
Good  Friday,  After  seeing  La  Merced  we  visited  the 
church  of  San  Jose  (St.  Joseph),  an  old  time  edifice.  On 
altars  and  in  glass  cases  were  some  awful  looking  fig- 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  25 

ures.  Near  the  main  'entrance  on  our  right,  on  that 
occasion,  was  a  life-sized  figure  of  Christ,  in  a  glass  case, 
clad  in  loud  garments  with  a  fearful  wig  iipon  the  head. 
It  was  an  extraordinary  spectacle.  The  old  gentleman 
at  my  side  looked  at  it  intently  and  whispered  to  me, 
"  He  does  not  look  like  a  gentleman."  The  remark,  his 
seriousness,  and  the  suggestiveness  caused  me  to  get 
outside  instantly  to  give  my  mirth  fair  play.  I  had 
never  looked  at  it  in  that  way.  The  sole  religion  in 
Colombia  is  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  or,  practically, 
it  is  the  sole  religion.  Latterly  its  fetters  have  been 
drawn  tighter  and  tighter. 

In  order  to  see  the  market-place  at  Panama,  and  it  is  a 
sight  well  worth  seeing,  you  have  to  get  up  just  about 
the  time  that  the  first  light  begins  to  show  in  the  east. 
The  building  is  of  metal,  and  was  brought  to  the  city  all 
ready  to  be  put  up.  Reaching  it  you  are  struck  with 
the  number  of  people  who  are  up  and  out  at  that  early 
hour.  The  place  is  full  of  them.  The  market  is  divided 
into  sections,  in  each  of  which  is  one  kind  of  raw  mate- 
rial out  of  which  the  cooks  will  manufacture  dishes, 
savory  or  the  reverse.  Panama  is  an  Indian  word 
meaning  "a  place  abounding  in  fish,"  and  as  might  be 
imagined  the  fish-supply  in  the  market  is  very  large. 
It  comes  from  the  river  and  the  sea.  There  is  a  kind  of 
giant  catfish,' weighing  from  ten  to  thirty  pounds,  which 
is  very  cheap  and  therefore  popular  with  the  poor  class. 
Another  common  fish  is  a  species  of  bream  with  enormous 
scales.  Of  sea  fish,  the  red  snapper  is  very  plentiful  and 
very  good.  Sometimes  one  comes  across  a  Jew  fish  or 
as  Tom  Cringle  calls  it  in  his  "  Log,"  a  most  noble  Jew 
fish ;  easily  one  of  the  best  that  is  caught.  Pinkish  red 
shrimps  are  piled  in  baskets  and  alongside  are  other 
piles  of  brown-colored  things,  the  flesh  of  shrimps  dried 
in  the  sun.  Dried  fish  is  common  and  finds  a  ready  sale. 
In  the  meat  market,  beef  is  the  staple,  although  you  see 
some  poi'k  and  some  goat.  The  meat  is  all  cut  into  long 
strips  and  is  sold  by  the  yard.  When  slightly  salted  it 
is  dried  in  the  sun  and  in  this  form  is  the  staple  food.  It 
generally  smells  somewhat  too  strongly  to  be  acceptable 


26  FIVE  YEAnS  AT  PANAMA. 

to  Europenns  or  Americans.  The  vegetables  arc  in  ^rcat 
heaps  on  the  ground.  Yucas,  yams,  potatoes,  rice,  plan- 
tains, corn,  onions,  garlic,  beans  and  peas  are  the  mort 
common.  Sometimes  yoa  see  Brussels  sprouts,  kale, 
cauliflower  or  lettuce,  and  now  and  then  a  palm-cabbago. 
This  consists  of  tlie  young  leaves  and  heart  of  the  cab- 
bage-palm, and  is  rather  good.  Of  fruit  there  is  no  end 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Spaniards  consider  it  unhealthy. 
Aguacates  or  alligator-joears,  oranges,  limes,  papeyas, 
melons,  mangoes,  bananas,  guavas  and  cocoanuts  are 
tlie  most  common. 

Tiie  system  of  marketing  strikes  a  stranger  as  being 
odd.  It  is  done  by  tlie  cooks  and  as  they  never  buy 
more  than  just  enough  for  one  day,  you  will  see  in  the 
wooden  bowls  carried  on  the  head,  a  small  fish,  a  piece 
of  meat,  a  yuca,  a  yam,  a  handful  of  garlic  and  an 
onion,  four  or  five  mangoes,  a  couple  of  plantains,  two 
or  three  limes,  a  little  rice  in  a  small  gourd,  and  some 
bread.  It  is  a  gay  scene,  with  the  women  walking  about 
and  chaffering  with  the  dealers,  while  the  men  are 
carrying  in  supplies  from  the  canoes.  Standing  about 
are  hundreds  of  the  patient  little  donkeys  so  character- 
istic of  Spanish  towns. 


Canai-  Encampment  at  Culkbka,  on  the  "Divide." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE     CHURCHES     AND      ECCLESIASTICAL      RUIXS      OF     MODERN 
PANAMA. 

Modern  Panama  is  rich  in  material  for  all  students 
of  ecclesiastical  architecture.  These  churches,  church 
ruins,  the  old  convents  and  the  ruins  of  the  Jesuit  Col- 
lege, deserve  a  chapter  to  themselves. 

The  oldest  church  is  that  of  San  Felipe  Neri,  in  the 
long  past  the  parish  church  of  the  city  within  the  walls. 
Its  side  is  on  a  narrow  street,  and  over  the  sole  entrance 
there  one  reads,  "San  Felipe  Neri,  1688,"  cut  in  a  shield. 
The  early  Spaniards  were  famous  for  making  cements, 
both  colored  and  uncolored.  So  hard  were  they  that 
they  have  stood  the  effects  of  the  heat  and  moisture  of 
that  destructive  climate  without  damage.  This  old-time 
cement  to-day  is  as  hard  as  stone.  Over  the  entrance  to 
public  buildings  and  churches  they  made  their  inscrip- 
tions in  these  cements,  in  many  instances  filling  in  odd 
spaces  with  ornamental  work  made  of  the  large  pearl 
shells  from  the  famous  Islas  de  Perlas,  or  Pearl  Islands 
in  the  Gulf  of  Panama.  Such  designs  when  new  must 
have  been  chaste  and  beautiful,  as  the  sm.ooth  mother-of- 
pearl  surfaces  of  the  large  shells  on  a  background  of 
reddish  cement  must  have  made  a  beautiful  contrast, 
the  shells  reflecting  the  sun  rays  in  thousands  of  direc- 
tions. 

This  quaint  and  most  substantial  old  edifice  faces  on  a 
small  street.  At  one  time  it  made  the  corner  of  the 
Plaza  San  Francisco  or  St.  Francis  Square.  The  large 
door  is  reached  by  a  few  stone  steps,  on  either  side  of 
which  are  a  few  plain  columns;  while  there  are  a  few 
lancet  shaped  windows  above.  Its  front  is  very  plain. 
The  whole  is  surmounted  by  a  quaint  old  tower  of  the 

27 


28  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

true  Moorish  type.  It  is  built  wholly  of  stone  with  a 
rounded  cupola  of  the  same  material.  Lashed  to  cross- 
pieces  are  the  old-time  bells.  The  door  is  a  huge  affair 
of  most  substantial  make,  studded  with  huge  brazen 
heads  or  knobs.  When  closed  from  within,  persons  in 
the  church  could  stand  a  small  siege  very  successfully. 
The  side  windows  of  the  church  are  fully  twenty -five 
feet  above  the  street,  and  they  were  purposely  so  made 
in  case  of  attack.  The  walls  of  San  Felipe  Neri  are 
nearly  five  feet  thick,  and  the  windows  are  so  deeply 
recessed  as  to  remind  one  of  an  ancient  fortress  or 
prison. 

Many  and  desperate  were  the  battles  fought  by  the 
early  Spaniards  against  the  Indians  of  those  days,  and 
the  value  of  a  substantial  stone  building  was  duly  ap- 
preciated. They,  when  pressed,  sought  refuge  in  the 
churches  and  closed  the  doors,  when  what  was  the  house 
of  God  temporarily  became  a  Spanish  fortress  in  minia- 
ture— a  happy  combination  of  the  things  of  earth  with 
those  of  heaven.  This  most  interesting  relic  of  the  past 
has  had  its  main  front  built  in,  and  is  thus  absolutely 
lost  to  sight.  The  building  in  front  to-day  is  a  school 
for  girls,  under  the  direction  of  the  sisters  of  charity, 
the  majority  of  whom  are  Frenchwomen. 

A  large  and  very  interesting  edifice  is  the  church  of 
San  Francisco,  or  St.  Francis.  It  faces  on  the  Plaza  of 
that  name  and  is  within  a  stone's  throw  of  San  Felipe 
Neri.  It  is  about  150  years  old  and  has  two  large 
towers.  Its  front  or  fagade  was,  no  doubt,  in  the  long 
past,  a  inasterpiece  adorned  with  much  rich  masonry. 
Time,  neglect,  and  climate  have  not  improved  it.  This 
building  has  an  enormous  pair  of  doors.  They  are 
studded  with  hvige  brazen  heads  or  knobs,  and  if  I 
remember  rightly,  the  knobs  are  seraphs.  These 
churches  are  nearly  all  built  of  stone  from  Panama  or  its 
vicinity;  a  stone  resembling  in  color  the  sandstone  so 
familiar  to  travellers  in  the  United  States,  and  the  Caen- 
stone  of  the  continent.  That  quarried  in  the  Bay  of 
Panama  at  low  water  is  said  to  be  a  pure  volcanic  rock 
from  the  old  volcano  of  Ancon,  just  back  of  the  city  of 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  29 

Panama.  In  the  church  of  San  Francisco  the  lancet 
shaped  windows  on  its  front  are  high  up  and  well  out 
of  the  reach  of  a  possible  enemy.  The  towers  of  this 
church  resemble  those  of  San  Felipe  Neri,  La  Merced, 
and  some  others  to  be  described,  being  of  the  usual 
Moorish  type.     The  bells  I  shall  refer  to  later. 

Within  the  vast  edifice  as  you  look  from  the  main 
entrance  you  note  rows  of  noble  stone  columns,  rismg 
from  the  floor  to  blend  with  graceful  arches.  These 
columns  are  of  the  most  substantial  type,  the  bases  of 
many  being  five  and  six  feet  in  diameter.  These  rows 
practically  divide  the  church  proper  into  main  and  side 
aisles.  The  grand  altar  faces  the  door,  and  looking 
towards  it  you  have  on  either  side  these  beautiful  col- 
umns rising  before  you.  The  altar  of  San  Francisco  is  a 
huge  affair  and  is  largely  composed  of  carved  wood  of 
the  old  style.  Many  of  the  carvings  are  classic.  The 
altar,  as  one  familiar  with  things  Spanish  would  expect, 
is  covered  with  a  profusion  of  church  ornaments.  In  all 
Spanish  countries  the  display  in  such  places  is  greater 
than  in  any  Anglo-Saxon  land  known  to  me.  On  the 
right  and  left  of  the  grand  altar  or  beyond  the  row  of 
columns  there  are  side  altars  at  the  ends  of  their  respec- 
tive aisles.  Looking  into  the  edifice  from  the  main 
entrance  along  either  of  the  walls  one  sees  side  altars 
and  confessionals,  the  latter  being  of  an  exceedingly 
simple  type.  The  base  is  of  wood  raised  a  few  inches 
above  the  floor.  It  has  no  covering.  A  simple  wooden 
partition  runs  up  a  distance  of  perhaps  five  feet,  and 
about  midway  in  this  there  is  a  small  lattice.  The 
padre  or  priest  sits  on  one  side  while  the  penitent  kneels 
on  the  other.  Confessionals  of  this  type  are  common  in 
Spanish  American  countries. 

The  great  number  of  mural  tablets  attracts  the  atten- 
tion of  a  stranger,  as  do  the  marble  slabs  in  the  stone 
floor.  They  bear  suitable  inscriptions  which  tell  of  the 
last  resting-place  of  the  bones  of  some  one. 

These  churches  have  a  species  of  pew.  For  the  grand 
fiestas  or  holidays  the  aisles  are  filled  with  chairs. 
People  send  their  servants  with  chairs  to  the  churches, 


30  FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA. 

to  the  bull-teasiiigs,  and  to  the  theatre.  To  see  a  family 
going  home  after  service  Avith  people  following  them 
Avith  chairs  on  their  heads  is  not  unusual.  It  is  not 
unusual  to  them,  but  it  certainly  makes  sti'angers 
stare. 

Near  the  grand  altar  were  many  valued  relics. 
Amongst  others  1  particularly  noted  the  real  skull  of  a 
departed  saint.  It  was  in  a  species  of  glass  case.  One 
of  the  eyeless  sockets  was  covered  with  a  fine  mould. 
It  looked  uncanny,  but  as  the  inscrii^tion  said  it  was  the 
skidl  of  a  true  saint,  that  ended  it.  These  real  skulls 
and  pieces  of  the  real  cross  and  portions  of  the  garments 
of  Christ  that  one  meets  in  travelling  sadly  disarrange 
one's  mental  mathematics  and  bring  about  a  severe  type 
of  mental  indigestion,  which  is,  to  say  the  least,  very 
annoying.  But  one  of  two  issues  stares  one  in  the  face 
under  such  circumstances— either  that  the  majority  of 
mankind  are  a  credulous  lot,  or  that  he  has  been  edu- 
cated above  the  requirements  of  the  country  in  which 
he  lives. 

During  my  last  visit  to  Panama  I  had  occasion  to  call 
on  one  of  the  priests  of  the  church  of  San  Francisco. 
The  beadle  led  me  up  a  narrow  staircase,  and  at  last  we 
stood  on  a  shelf-like  passage  leading  to  a  species  of  loft 
or  choir  to  the  right.  I  looked  down  on  the  vast  build- 
ing and  its  substantial  columns  and  beautiful  arches,  and 
its  hugeness  impressed  me.  We  passed  through  a  small 
doorway  to  the  left,  in  what  was  really  an  upper  part  of 
an  outer  wall  of  the  church.  Along  the  roof  on  that 
side  were  a  number  of  rooms  occupied  by  the  clergy. 
Thus  while  living  on  the  church,  they  really  lived  out- 
side of  it.  From  the  side  windows  there  was  a  view  of 
the  bay  and  the  ruins  of  the  buildings  occupied  by  the 
priesthood  of  San  Francisco  in  the  past.  The  walls  of 
the  old  ruins  adjoin  the  church  and  extend  from  it  to 
the  sea  wall  on  that  side.  These  large  and  substantial 
walls  give  one  an  idea  of  the  original  vastness  of  the 
building.  One  front  of  them  some  years  ago  was 
inclosed,  covered  in,  and  converted  into  the  Charity 
Hospital.    In  that  building  hundreds  and  hundreds  have 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  31 

died  of  yellow  fever.  At  present  it  is  occupied  as  a 
storehouseTlounisTF never  was  disinfected  oj;J:uinigated 
in  an^j^^^hape, jQT^  jjianiier^o  _m  JL js.  a .  hot- 

bed of  the^diseasa  From  one  corner  of  the  building 
there  rises  a  pure  Moorish  tower,  such  as  one  sees  all 
over  Spain — I  mean  all  over  that  part  of  Spain  that  was 
overrun  by  the  Moors  during  their  occupation  of  eight 
hundred  years.  From  the  church  of  San  Francisco  and 
these  buildings  around  it  there  is  a  magnificent  view  of 
the  bay  and  islands.  Apropos  of  the  ruins,  I  may  state 
that  the  sea  wall,  or  that  toward  the  southeast  side,  has 
fallen  away,  as  it  has  been  undermined  by  the  constant 
washing  of  the  tides.  Sections  have  fallen  out,  revealing 
the  substantial  character  of  the  sea  walls,  the  bases  in 
places  being  twelve  and  fifteen  feet  through.  Their  fall- 
ing away  also  revealed  a  vaulted  or  arched  way  leading 
into  the  city  proper.  It  was  well  constructed  and  suffi- 
ciently high  for  a  man  by  stooping  to  walk  with  consid- 
erable ease.  No  fact  is  better  known  to  the  few  who 
have  made  the  subject  a  matter  of  close  inquiry  than 
that  the  ecclesiastical  buildings  and  churches  of  Inodern 
Panama  had  an  underground  communication.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  church  of  San  Fi-ancisco  tliere  are 
walls  and  another  lofty  Moorish  tower,  and,  a  few 
years  ago,  beyond  these  were  the  ruins  of  the  convent  of 
San  Francisco.  In  the  good  old  days,  when  Spain  was 
a  power  and  the  Isthmus  was  flourishing,  it  was  a  con- 
vent of  cloistered  nvms.  As  the  term  implies,  their  lives 
were  wholly  passed  within  the  walls;  there  they  lived, 
died  and  were  buried.  Some  forty  years  ago,  when  the 
Colombians  threw  off  the  then  oppressive  yoke  of  Rome, 
the  Jesuits  and  sisters  of  charity,  with  the  priesthood 
generally,  were  expelled  from,  the  country.  Mr.  Bid- 
well,  a  former  British  Consul  at  Panama,  in  his  most 
instructive  book,*  gives  an  insight  into  the  life  of  these 
very  sisters  of  chainty.  The  hungry  and  thirsty  always 
found  food  and  water  at  the  main  entrance  at  all  hours 
of  the  day  and  night.    They  knocked,  and  the  hand  of  an 

"  *The  Isthmus  of  Panama,"  Bidwell,  London, 


y 


32  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

invisible  sister  relieved  their  wants.  At  the  time  of 
their  expulsion  there  were  several  sisters  so  aged  and 
feeble  that  their  being  sent  away  really  was  at  the  risk 
of  their  lives,  and  it  Avas  left  to  Mr.  Bid  well,  a  foreigner, 
to  see  them  safely  on  board  of  some  vessels  in  the  bay 
which  were  bound  south.  It  is  said  that  bones  have 
been  discovered  within  these  walls.  Such,  no  doubt,  was 
the  case,  for  the  nuns  were  buried  in  them.  In  the 
early  days  the  sisters  entered  that  building  never  to 
leave  it.  To-day  what  was  then  the  main  front  of  the 
convent  is  a  theatre. 

Life  is  but  a  series  of  contrasts.  There  the  excellent 
sisters  prayed  and  died.  Mademoiselle  Sarah  Bern- 
hardt electrified  the  modern  Panamanians  some  eigh- 
teen months  ago  by  one  of  her  plays  which  was  raptur- 
ously received,  the  city  fairly  going  wild  over  it.  At  a 
later  perfoi^mance,  with  a  view  of  doing  her  honor,  some 
huge  Chinese  crackers  were  attached  to  the  main  door. 
While  the  immortal  Sarah  was  on  the  stage,  off  went 
these  miniature  bombs.  Great  was  her  fright,  and  it 
resulted  in  a  violent  fit  of  hysterics,  and  the  awful  news- 
papers stated  that  the  French  beauty  kicked  like  a 
Texas  steer.     Of  all  places,  fancy  Sarah  in  a  convent ! 

Leaving  these  nuns  and  crossing  the  city,  almost  from 
side  to  side,  on  the  left-hand  corner  of  Calle  San  Jose,  or 
St.  Joseph  Street,  are  the  ruins  of  San  Domingo,  or 
the  church  of  St.  Dominic.  There  is  much  of  interest 
about  this  ruin  not  found  in  connection  with  the 
other  buildings.  The  brethren  of  the  order  built  the 
church ;  they  planned  and  built  it  with  their  own  hands. 
Its  fagade  or  front  is  a  mass  of  ruins,  and  the  upper  part 
has  fallen  away.  Along  the  upper  walls  there  is  quite  a 
dense  growth  of  shrubbery,  and  from  the  chinks  in  the 
wall  there  spring  numerous  ti'opical  bushes.  As  one 
would  expect,  it  had  a  huge  main  entrance,  on  either  side 
of  which  were  the  columns  terminating  above  in  capi- 
tals; there  were  niches,  and  above  all  a  few  lancet- 
shaped  windows.  The  front  of  this  church  is  partly  of 
stone  and  partly  of  brick.  Cement  or  concrete  entered 
largely  into  all  the  work  of  the  early  Spaniards;  and 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  33 

beautiful  work  they  did.  The  latter  when  whitewashed 
gave  the  appearance  of  white  marble  columns.  The 
towers  of  St.  Dominic  are  of  the  past — not  a  vestige 
remains.  Within  the  edifice  previous  to  the  great 
earthquake  of  September  7,  1882,  there  was  a  lofty  arch 
in  front  of  the  grand  altar.  Springing  from  either  wall 
it  crossed  fully  eighty  feet  above  the  floor  of  the 
church.  There  it  stood,  bold  and  substantial,  against 
the  blue  sky.  The  earthquake  destroyed  it.  A  more 
interesting  arch  from  a  historic  standpoint  is  that  just 
near  the  main  entrance,  and  above  which  was  the  old 
choir.  This  arch  was  built  and  fell.  It  was  rebuilt  and 
fell  again ;  it  was  rebuilt  and  fell  a  third  time  and  the 
brethren  were  in  dismay.  Their  plans  had  been  at 
fault.  A  new  design  was  prepared,  and  for  a  fourth 
time  it  was  built,  and  before  the  supports  were  finally 
removed,  its  designer  stood  under  the  arch,  saying  it 
was  well  made,  if  not  he  would  be  crushed.  It  did  not 
fall,  and  to  this  day  it  remains,  the  most  interesting 
relic  of  church  architecture  in  the  city.  It  is  an  arch  in 
name,  but  is  almost  flat  along  its  centre ;  such  an  arch  1 
have  never  seen  in  my  wanderings. 

On  the  side  walls  of  the  church  were  windows  some 
thirty  feet  above  the  ground,  and  on  both  sides  were 
entrances,  one  to  the  grounds  occupied  by  the  clergy, 
and  the  other  on  the  side  street.  Speaking  of  the 
growth  of  shrubbery  all  along  the  walls  of  St.  Dominic, 
I  recall  a  terrific  thunder-storm  when  I  was  in  the  Grand 
Hotel.  While  I  was  watching  it  from  a  window,  a  flash 
of  lightning  dazzled  me ;  it  had  struck  the  side  of  the 
wall  of  the  church  nearest  the  hotel  and  set  fire  to  the 
shrubbery  there. 

On  the  same  Calle  San  Jose  just  beyond  the  main 
entrance  to  the  church  of  St.  Dominic,  there  is  the 
quaintest  of  all  the  churches  and  chapels  in  modern 
Panama.  Its  front  is  of  masonry  and  has  a  huge 
entrance,  and  a  few  bells  are  placed  in  a  temporary 
wooden  tower  in  the  corner.  Its  pews  are  of  the  small- 
est and  most  primitive  character,  and  the  Christians 
who  worshipped  in  it  certainly  got  small  comfort  by 
3 


34  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

attending  church.  Just  within  the  large  doorway  a  few 
wooden  columns  support  a  loft  or  choir,  all  of  the  most 
primitive  type.  There  is  a  main  aisle  and  two  tiny  side 
aisles.  Standing  at  the  door  and  looking  towards  the 
grand  altar,  you  can  see  midway  on  the  wall  on  either 
side,  side  altars  with  extraordinary  figures  of  Christ,  the 
Virgin,  and  the  Saints,  occasionally  draped  in  garments 
of  the  loudest  hues.  High  up  on  the  right  wall  looking 
towards  the  chancel,  there  is  an  old  fashioned  pulpit, 
which  is  reached  by  a  narrow,  steep  stairway. 

The  grand  altar  in  this  little  chapel  to  me  was  a  mat- 
ter of  endless  curiosity.  The  paraphernalia  of  the 
church  placed  upon  it,  the  gaudy  drapings  of  the  saints, 
and  the  violet  colored  paint  of  its  woodwork  were  aston- 
ishing. In  the  dresses  sea-green  and  yellow  were  pre- 
dominant colors.  Such  combinations  only  seem  to 
obtain  in  Spanish  America  and  in  the  mother  country. 
They  offend  the  eye,  and  one  vainly  looks  for  that 
pure  taste  and  elegance  that  one  expects  to  find  in 
churches. 

The  resident  priest  lived  back  of  the  church,  and  he 
was  so  aged  and  infirm  that  it  seemed  a  wonder  that  he 
lived  on;  yet  he  did,  and  occasionally  officiated.  Mis- 
fortune overtook  the  old  gentleman  just  prior  to  my 
leaving  the  Isthmus  in  1885.  The  savings  of  his  lifetime 
had  been  stolen.  The  sum  was  not  fabulous,  but  it  was 
his  all.  In  that  long  life  of  nearly  eighty  years  he  had 
actually  amassed  nearly  four  hundred  dollars!  The 
robbery  was  a  cruel  one,  and  at  his  time  of  life  the  shock 
would  be  sufficient  to  hasten  his  end,  so  I  doubt  not  that 
he  has  been  gathered  to  his  fathers.  I  may  state  here 
that  this  ma^gnificent  simplicity  is  the  exception  and 
not  the  rule. 

The  church  of  San  Jose  faces  on  the  street  of  that 
name  and  its  rear  walls  abut  on  what  was  a  part  of  the 
embankment  of  the  sea  wall,  on  the  western  face  of  the 
city.  This  old-time  church  claims  but  little  from  one, 
save  the  respect  that  attaches  to  age.  Its  front  is  not 
ornate ;  it  has  the  usual  huge  door  or  doors,  and  a  small 
square  Moorish  tower  on  one  corner. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  35 

Within  it  is  a  huge,  dreary,  barn-Hke  structure.  Its 
grand  altar  has  little  that  claims  attention,  save  a  few 
hammered  out  silver  book-rests — I  mean  the  silver  has 
been  hammered  out  and  secured  to  wooden  backs.  The 
plainness  of  the  grand  altar  and  its  lack  of  gaud,  is  in 
pleasing  contrast  to  other  churches.  Some  of  the  side 
altars  have  figures  of  saints  in  many  colored  garments, 
the  saints  being  of  wood  and  of  plain  workmanship. 
The  poverty  of  the  church  within  indicates  a  poor  con- 
gregation. 

I  visited  it  once  on  the  eve  of  Good  Friday,  and  saw 
that  it  had  also  introduced  a  figure  of  Christ  with  the 
feet  exposed;  but  La  Merced  has  the  monopoly.  The 
latter  is  on  a  main  thoroughfare,  and  Christians  there  as 
elsewhere,  seem  to  prefer  publicity  in  their  religion, 
and  are  not  given  to  side  streets  and  poor  churches. 
La  Merced  was  thronged  on  that  occasion,  while  San 
Jose  had  a  mere  handful ;  but  at  the  latter  I  noticed  a 
more  general  practise  of  kissing  both  feet.  This  sort 
of  thing  obtains  in  Central  America  as  well.  Once 
while  in  the  city  of  Guatemala,  in  the  highlands  of 
Central  America,  I  visited  the  Church  of  the  Calvary, 
and  there  saw  a  figure  of  Christ  in  a  glass  case  with  one 
foot  projecting.  The  faithful  ascended  two  steps,  knelt 
and  kissed  it. 

We  are  told  that  time  and  tide  waits  for  no  man,  and 
unless  some  steps  are  taken  to  repair  the  sea  wall  just  at 
the  back  of  the  old  church,  some  day  the  rear  walls  of 
that  venerable  building  will  go  to  sea.  The  constant 
action  of  the  tides  has  undermined  the  massive  founda- 
tions, and  a  portion  of  the  sea  wall  has  fallen  outward 
in  huge  masses,  and  through  the  gap  the  rollers,  as  they 
come  in,  are  slowly  and  surely  cutting  away  the  em- 
bankment. Owing  to  the  great  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides 
on  the  Bay  of  Panama,  from  18  to  24  feet,  the  destruc- 
tion is  sure.  Already  a  part  of  the  street  has  been  cut 
away,  and  when  I  was  last  on  the  Isthmus  but  about  fif- 
teen feet  of  earth  remained  between  the  rear  walls  of 
San  Jose  and  the  gap. 

It  is  usual  thei'e,  as  in  Spain,  to  do  nothing  until  the 


36  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

expected  happens.  In  illustration  of  this  statement,  I 
recall  reading  of  the  great  damage  done  that  most 
classic  of  old  buildings,  the  cathedral  of  Saville.  This, 
one  of  the  grandest  monuments  of  Spain,  was  greatly- 
damaged  recently  by  the  falling  in  of  the  greater  part  of 
its  stone  roof  and  columns  and  the  desti'uction  of  its 
choir.  The  damage  to  this  grand  old  edifice  impressed 
me  the  more,  as  during  my  trip  through  Spain  it  had 
greatly  interested  me. 

On  the  Isthmus,  as  in  Spain,  politicians  are  too  busy 
with  schemes  for  self-aggrandizement  and  self-profit  to 
take  into  consideration  the  needed  repair  of  old  monu- 
ments. 

The  cathedral  of  Panama  was  built  at  the  sole  expense 
of  one  of  the  bishops  of  Panama,  and  was  completed 
about  128  years  ago.  ■  The  bishop's  father  was  a  Pan- 
amanian by  birth — a  colored  man.  He  made  charcoal 
near  the  Boca  de  la  Rio  Grande,  or  the  mouth  of  the 
Grand  River,  a  stream  entering  the  Bay  of  Panama 
some  two  miles  from  the  Panama  City  of  to-day. 
This  colored  man  made  his  charcoal  and  brought 
it  on  his  back  to  sell  from  house  to  house, — a  cus- 
tom that  obtains  to  this  very  day.  He  gave  his  son, 
the  future  bishop,  as  good  an  education  as  was  pos- 
sible. In  due  time  he  became  a  deacon,  priest  and 
finally  bishop  of  Panama— a  bishop  of  proud  Panama, 
for  in  those  days  it  was  a  wealthy  city.  He  was  the 
first  colored  bishop  of  Panama.  This  son  of  a  charcoal 
burner  developed  into  a  grand  man,  and  in  time 
crowned  a  life  of  usefulness  by  building  the  cathe- 
dral from  his  private  means.  Much  of  the  stone  vised 
in  its  construction  is  from  the  highlands  of  the  interior 
and  was  brought  many  leagues  on  the  backs  of  men. 
After  long  years  the  building  was  completed  in  1760. 

The  main  doorway  faces  the  Plaza  as  previously 
stated.  The  huge  doors  swing  back  on  ponderous  old 
pivots,  and  are  made  of  hard  wood,  fully  four  inches 
thick.  The  fastenings  in  brass  would  set  many  archseol- 
ogists  wild.  Just  within  and  facing  the  door,  is  a  small, 
square  altar  or  shrine  in  white  and  gold  to  the  Virgin. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  37 

A  few  years  ago  a  real  Murillo  hung  on  the  inner  face 
of  this,  facing  the  grand  altar.  Rows  of  pure  white 
columns  at  once  attract  attention ;  their  solidity,  exquis- 
ite proportion,  and  whiteness,  with  their  arches  above, 
to  me  were  very  beautiful.  These  columns  divide  the 
building  into  main  and  side  aisles.  The  first  pair  termi- 
nate above  in  an  almost  flat  arch,  the  upper  surface  of 
which  resembles  a  miniature  viaduct.  Above  is  the  roof, 
of  a  dark,  rich  wood,  of  a  reddish  tint.  The  contrast  of 
the  arches  with  the  dark  colored  wood  is  grand.  The 
next  set  of  columns  have  a  different  species  of  arch, 
higher  up  and  running  directly  up  to  the  roof.  Then 
there  is  the  kind  of  arch  first  desci'ibed.  These  arches 
alternate  until  they  terminate  in  the  distance  near  the 
grand  altar.  Some  of  them  have  the  coats-of-arms  of 
Leon  and  Castile.  It  is  impossible  to  visit  that  grand 
old  building  without  being  filled  with  admiration. 

Looking  from  the  door  down  the  main  aisle  with  the 
pure  white  columns  rising  on  either  side  to  the  arches 
and  roof  above,  the  whole  terminating  in  the  grand 
altar  in  the  distance,  makes  a  most  effective  picture. 
The  outer  rows  of  columns  make  side  aisles.  Their 
arches  are  not  nearly  so  lofty,  and  cross  to  join  the  main 
columns.  Looking  down  either  of  these  aisles  one  sees 
the  usual  side  altai"S  at  their  ends.  Along  the  side  walls 
of  the  church  are  two  side  altars  and  the  Stations  of  the 
Cross.  That  old  building  was  a  special  admiration  of 
mine;  its  interior,  its  fittings,  all  appealed  to  me. 
The  grand  altar  is  enclosed  within  a  neat  chancel  railing. 
The  bishop's  throne  is  to  the  left  as  you  enter  the  build- 
ing. Opposite  it  are  the  stalls  for  the  clergy  and  choris- 
ters. There  are  the  usual  lecterns.  The  altar  proper  is 
chaste,  its  fittings  are  rich,  and  on  the  great  festivals  of 
the  church,  it  is  grand  and  impressive.  In  the  past  the 
cathedral  of  Panama  was  very  wealthy.  Its  figure  of 
the  Virgin  was  covered  with  precious  stones  and  pearls, 
these  being  largely  votive  offerings,  and  coming  from 
the  Pearl  Islands  in  the  gulf.  Its  service  Avas  of  the 
purest  silver  and  gold.  Following  the  expulsion  of  the 
priests  and  the  sisters  of  charity  it  was  despoiled  of  its 


38  FIVE  VEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

wealth,  and  while  no  doubt  a  great  deal  of  the  church 
pi'operty  reverted  to  the  State,  it  is  claimed,  and  I  think 
with  reason,  that  many  of  its  treasures  in  gold  and 
silver  and  precious  stones  enriched  some  of  the  despoil- 
ers.  The  gold  and  silver  went  to  the  melting  pot,  and 
the  jewels — ah !  Dios  sabe — the  Lord  knows ;  certain  it 
is  that  they  were  lost  to  the  church  and  failed  to  reach 
the  government  treasury.  The  side  windows  are  high 
above  the  ground  and  doubly  recessed,  owing  to  the 
very  thick  and  massive  walls. 

In  connection  with  this  old  building  there  is  an  under- 
ground way  passing  directly  under  the  main  square  by 
way  of  the  convent  already  described,  to  the  old  sea 
battery,  or  extreme  point  of  the  city  looking  seaward. 
It  is  said  that  these  underground  ways  were  especially 
devised  to  allow  the  besieged,  if  in  danger,  to  escape  from 
one  point  to  another.  I  have  never  been  in  this  under- 
ground passage,  but  I  am  well  acquainted  with  a  gentle- 
man in  Panama  who  has  been  in  it  and  who  has  traversed 
it  for  some  distance.  The  great  earthquake  of  September 
7,  1882,  threw  a  part  of  the  fagade  into  the  square  of  the 
cathedral,  as  well  as  some  of  the  saints  in  the  niches. 
The  pretty  arches  within  were  cracked  and  the  tile  roof 
Avas  badly  damaged.  This  church,  in  common  with  all 
the  others  at  Panama,  is  covei-ed  with  red  tiles— a  species 
of  oval  tile  made  in  the  country.  "Its  front  has  been 
renovated  and  yellow-washed  by  the  Panama  lottery. 
Fact  !  There  is  nothing  like  being  '  solid '  with  the 
church.  The  devil  having  repaired  the  church— I  really 
beg  his  pardon,  I  mean  the  lottery— it  gives  one  a  new 
mental  study."  * 

There  are  a  number  of  minor  points  regarding  this 
building,  which  while  not  architectural,  at  least  are 
amusing  and  true.  Once  a  lot  of  English  Blue  Jackets 
were  on  shore  on  a  spree,  when  they  lassoed  some  of  the 
saints  and  hauled  them  into  the  Plaza.  You  can  fancy 
the  horror  of  the  faithful  at  this  sacrilegious  act  of  the 
gringos. 

*  The  Gazette,  Montreal,  April,  1888. 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  39 

This  modernizing  of  the  cathedral  with  yellow-wash 
and  blocking  it  off  into  squares,  seems  little  better  than 
vandalism.  All  of  the  stonework  has  been  buried 
under  the  yellow-wash,  while  the  towers  retain  their  old 
appearance. 

The  towers  of  the  cathedral  are  guides  to  mariners, 
and  are  set  down  in  sailing  directions.*  The  southeast 
tower  of  the  cathedral  leans  outward  a  trifle;  due,  no 
doubt,  to  repeated  earthquakes.  The  old,  old  tower  of 
the  Cathedral  of  St.  Anastasius  at  old  Panama  also  leans, 
pi'obably  from  the  same  cause. 

In  the  past,  evening  marriages  at  the  cathedral  were 
the  fashionable  thing.  I  have  attended  several.  The 
building  lights  up  beautifully,  as  there  are  rows  of  gas 
jets  from  capital  to  capital  of  the  columns.  For  very 
fashionable  weddings  the  military  band  is  present,  and 
as  the  building  is  open  to  all,  everybody  could  attend. 
Well  do  I  remember  one  of  the  first  weddings  that  I  at- 
tended there.  It  was  a  very  fashix)nable  one.  The  mil- 
itary band  was  stationed  at  one  of  the  side  aisles  near 
the  main  entrance.  The  masses  had  crow^ded  into  the 
building.  By  the  masses  I  refer  to  the  Indians  and 
blacks  and  their  descendants— negroes  and  mulattoes. 
I  group  the  two,  as  there  has  been  a  great  blending  of 
the  races  on  the  Isthmus.  The  building  was  full,  and 
they  crowded  up  to  the  very  chancel  and  to  its  rail. 

After  the  marriage  the  band  played  the  congregation 
out,  when  a  reception  was  in  order.  Weddings  in 
Colombia  are  not  followed  by  wedding  trips,  for  they 
know  nothing  of  them.  The  happy  couple  are  married, 
a  reception  follows  at  the  residence  of  the  bride's  parents 
or  relatives,  when  a  few  intimate  friends  of  the  family 
escort  the  newly  married  pair  to  their  new  home. 

Before  saying  good-by  to  the  cathedral  something 
about  the  midnight  mass  there  on  Chi-istmas  eve  may 
be  interesting.  I  remember  a  Christmas  eve — a  clear, 
bright,  moonlight  night  without  a  cloud  in  the  blue 
vault — a  grand  moon  like  a  mass  of  molten  silver  float- 

*  "  South  Pacific  Pilot,"  Imrie  &  Co.,  London. 


40  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

ing  above.  Within  the  church  and  sitting  on  the  stone 
floor  were  hundreds  of  women,  negresses,  niulattresses, 
and  children  of  both  kinds,  some  alone,  others  in 
little  groups — all  in  their  Sunday  best.  Such  of  the 
women  as  could  afford  the  luxury  of  a  Spanish  mantilla 
had  one  thrown  over  their  heads.  Among  the  late  com- 
ers I  noted  a  mulattress  with  one  of  these  historical 
pieces  of  drapery  thrown  over  her  head.  I  detected 
minute,  flashes  of  light  of  a  metallic  lustre,  and  realized 
she  had  on  some  of  those  Brazilian  beetles  that  emit  that 
peculiar  phosphorescent  light.  These  beetles  are  caught, 
have  hairs  attached  to  them  and  are  fastened  to 
the  mantilla.  Their  intermittent  flashes  of  light  are 
attractiv^e,  but  I  fancy  the  majority  of  people  would  not 
be  desirous  of  having  such  lively  companions  in  such 
close  contact  with  their  persons,  and  would  prefer  to  be 
the  sole  inhabitants  of  their  vestments. 

The  church  of  San  Juan  de  Dios,  or  St.  John  of  God, 
occupies  a  corner  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  It  is  a  small, 
substantial  building  much  of  the  type  of  San  Felipe 
Neri.  It  has  a  small  yard  in  front  enclosed  by  a  sub- 
stantial stone  wall  and  iron  gate.  Its  front  is  not  attrac- 
tive ;  although  it  has  one  of  the  old  time  Moorish  towers. 
It  had  ceased  to  be  a  church  long  before  I  became 
a  resident  of  the  Isthmus,  and  when  I  became  acquainted 
with  it  it  was  a  theatre,  within  which  I  first  saw  the 
Spanish  plays.  Later  it  was  a  warehouse,  and  then  its 
face  was  built  in,  and  to-day  no  passer-by  would  know 
that  it  was  in  existence. 

The  ruins  of  the  Jesuit  College,  on  Calle  San  Jose,  or 
St.  Joseph  Street,  are  extensive  and  extend  along  the 
street  for  fully  three  hundred  feet,  one  end  of  the  college 
making  the  corner  diagonally  opposite  the  church  of 
San  Jose.  This  ^college  was  completed  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-six  years  ago.  It  was  a  lofty  and  sub- 
stantially built  edifice,  five  stories  high.  The  main 
entrance  on  St.  Joseph  Street  is  still  imposing.  There  is 
the  huge  doorway  with  side  columns,  terminating  above 
in  a  graceful  arch,  and  above  the  keystone  of  the  arch 
there  is  a  bleeding  heart,  the  symbol  of  the  Company  of 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  41 

Jesus.  It  had  just  been  finished  and  a  guardian  was  in 
charge  when  the  great  fire  in  March,  1737,  that  destroyed 
the  churches  of  San  Francisco  and  Santo  Domingo, 
burned  it,  together  with  some  hundreds  of  the  most 
important  houses  in  that  section  of  the  city  to  the 
ground.  The  only  church  that  escaped  the  fire  in  that 
part  of  the  city  was  San  FeHpe  Neri.  It  is  said  that  the 
college  was  connected  with  the  seashore  without  the 
walls,  by  a  subterranean  passage.  I  am  of  opinion  that 
tradition  in  this  instance  is  truthful,  as  time  and  again  I 
have  seen  a  subterranean  way  passing  under  the  old  quar- 
ters or  cloisters  of  the  priests  of  San  Francisco.  Certain 
it  is  that  just  beyond  the  Plaza  Triompha,  not  far  from 
the  ruins  of  the  college,  and  just  within  the  old  sea-wall 
near  the  moat,  the  arch  of  a  covered-in  way  could  be 
seen  a  few  years  ago.  These,  the  underground  ways,  are 
said  to  have  been  built  to  allow  the  inhabitants  or 
besieged  to  escape  if  pushed  by  their  enemies.  Close 
thinkers,  however,  may  have  other  views  regarding  the 
matter,  and  ask  in  a  highly  practical  way,  why  people" 
should  wish  to  escape  from  a  city  that  was  a  first-class 
fortress.  It  is  also  said  that  in  recent  years  a  part  of 
the  wall  of  the  college  fell,  and  within  a  hidden  room 
there  was  found  the  skeleton  of  a  female  and  a  child. 
Persistent  inquiry  on  my  part  failed  to  corroborate  this ; 
even  the  typical  oldest  inhabitant  could  only  repeat  the 
idle  tale. 

The  old  church  of  La  Mei'ced  faces  the  city  walls.  It 
stands  on  the  left  of  what  was  the  old  land  gate  entering 
the  city.  The  front  of  this  remarkable  church  in  early 
days  must  have  been  ornamental,  as  despite  the  corrod- 
ing marks  of  time  and  climate  it  claims  and  fixes  the 
attention  of  anyone  interested  in  such  matters.  It  is  of 
a  pure  Moorish  type,  the  stone  used  being  that  earlier 
described.  There  are  the  usual  colossal  doors  opening 
in  the  centre — massive  things  swung  on  the  most  pon- 
derous of  pivots  and  made  bullet  and  arrow  proof,  as 
things  were  in  those  early  days.  On  either  side  of  the 
doors  are  rows  of  columns.  Above  are  windows  with  a 
central    niche  for   a    figure  of  the  Virgin,  the  fagade 


42  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

terminating  above  in  a  gable ;  and  built  into  the  outer 
walls  on  either  side  are  Mooi'ish  towers,  all  of  stone  with 
the  usual  stone  capitals.  In  these  towers  are  jnany 
bells  lashed  to  cross-pieces, — bells  that  are  beaten,  not 
rung.  A  few  steps  lead  up  from  the  street  to  a  little 
terrace  in  front  of  the  church,  and  on  either  side  of  it 
are  two  pure  Moorish  chapels,  all  of  stone,  including  the 
roofs  and  the  miniature  domes.  That  to  the  left,  as  you 
face  the  church,  is  a  mortuary  chapel  and  belongs  to 
an  old  Colombian  family.  On  looking  in  through  the 
spaces  in  the  iron  door  one  sees  rows  of  marble  slabs 
marking  the  tombs.  The  corresponding  chapel,  or  that 
on  the  street,  is  open  all  the  year  round.  It  consists  of 
a  room  of  say  15  feet  by  15,  with  a  plain  altar  at  one  end, 
over  which  hangs  an  ever  burning  lamp.  It  is  claimed 
by  the  faithful,  and  I  have  never  heard  the  statement 
questioned,  that  this  lamp  never  has  lacked  oil,  nor  has 
it  gone  out,  for  nearly  fifty  years.  Within  that  vaulted 
room  the  lower  classes  may  be  seen  at  prayer,  and  many 
flock  thither  at  night.  Almost  without  exception  they 
are  colored  people.  At  one  time  this  church  was  very 
wealthy,  and  in  the  little  chapel  the  faithful  deposited 
their  votive  offerings  on  the  altar.  I  may  state  for  a 
fact  that  the  value  of  their  offerings  mathematically 
corresponded  with  the  risks  that  they  were  about  to  run. 
When  going  off  on  some  particularly  dangerous  voyage 
or  some  inland  venture,  they  would  deposit  nuggets  of 
native  gold  and  pearls  of  considerable  value,  the  latter 
from  the  islands  of  the  Gulf  of  Panama,  visited  by 
Vasco  Nuiiez  de  Balboa.  These  chapels  are  built  on  the 
corners  of  the  church,  and  with  its  main  entrance  they 
form  the  three  sides  of  the  small  terrace  in  front  of 
the  church,  the  street  making  the  fourth.  Along  the 
side  walls  on  the  main  street,  or  Calle  Real,  the  Royal 
Street  of  early  days,  there  is  a  huge  side  entrance, 
flanked  by  two  small  niches.  The  doors  here  are  studded 
with  brazen  heads,  and  the  equivalent  of  two  ponderous 
handles  is  found  in  brass  angels.  My  attention  was 
specially  drawn  to  them  from  the  fact  that  they  were 
angels  of  the  male  sex.     This  was  a  new  idea  to  me. 


FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA.  43 

All  along  that  side  thei'e  is  a  terrace  a  few  feet  above 
the  street,  which  is  kept  in  position  by  a  low  wall.  At 
the  corner  most  distant  from  the  chapel  is  a  stone  bear- 
ing a  huge  coat-of-arms.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  side 
Avails  in  that  vicinity,  among  the  rough  masonry,  several 
cut  and  dressed  stones  have  been  built  in.  One  bears 
the  word  Virgo,  and  on  another  is  the  word  Gloriosa, 
and  on  the  rear  wall  there  are  a  number  of  dates.  Some 
of  them  are  inverted.  These  things  caused  me  much 
speculation  previous  to  my  making  the  churches  a  mat- 
ter of  special  inquiry;  but  my  old  friend  and  teacher 
Senor  Don  Jose  Ospino,  formerly  a  professor  in  the 
Seminary  of  Panama,  explained  them.  I  am  greatly 
indebted  to  him  for  nearly  all  of  the  knowledge  I  possess 
of  the  churches  and  ecclesiastical  ruins  of  Panama.  He 
accounted  for  the  inscriptions,  inverted  and  otherwise, 
in  the  side  and  rear  walls  of  La  Merced,  by  telling  me 
that  following  the  destruction  of  old  Panama  some  of 
the  ecclesiastical  buildings  were  taken  to  pieces  and 
their  material  carried  over  four  miles  to  modern 
Panama,  there  to  be  used  in  building.  Thus  the  modern 
church  of  La  Merced  was  lai-gely  built  of  material  from 
its  namesake  of  old  Panama.  The  latter  was  the  oldest 
city  on  this  continent — I  mean  the  oldest  city  inhabited 
by  Europeans.  Within,  the  chui-ch  of  La  Merced  looks 
cheerless,  and  it  looked  very  much  so  prior  to  the  great 
earthquake  of  September,  1882.  Its  walls  and  deeply 
recessed  windows  and  cornices  were  badly  damaged; 
but  later  the  rents  and  seams  were  filled,  and  the  whole 
was  whitewashed.  Two  of  the  specialties  of  La  Merced 
are  the  great  service  on  the  eve  of  Good  Friday,  with 
which  my  readers  are  already  familiar,  and  a  fall  pro- 
cession in  honor  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Merced.  In 
olden  days  the  latter  was  one  of  the  most  magnificent  of 
the  festivals,  thousands  following  the  procession  at 
night,  carrying  blessed  candles  in  their  hands.  High 
above  the  main  altar  there  was  a  date,  but  between  time 
and  whitewash  it  has  been  very  nearly  obliterated.  In 
age  this  building  ranks  next  to  San  Felipe  Neri. 
The  Seminary  of  Panama  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and 


44  FIVE  yeahs  at  pan  am  a. 

all  the  early  books  containing  the  history  of  these 
churches  were  lost.  Many  of  the  clergy  officiating  there 
to-day  actually  know  nothing  of  the  history  of  the 
buildings  in  which  they  conduct  services.  But  for  the 
fact  that  my  old  friend,  Mr.  Ospino,  is  a  faithful  son  of 
the  church  and  a  most  intelligent  gentleman,  I  never 
could  have  got  my  information.  In  strict  justice  to 
him,  I  must  say  that  some  of  the  theorizing  regarding 
those  underground  passages  is  not  his.  All  of  the 
churches,  church  ruins,  chapels  and  the  convent  are 
within  the  city  proper. 

Brief  allusion  has  been  made  to  the  Bishop's  Palace, 
It  faces  the  main  Plaza  and  is  on  the  site  occupied  by  the 
former  palace,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  is  a 
very  handsome  building  of  a  modern  style  of  architec- 
ture, three  stories  high,  covered  with  a  red  tile  roof,  and 
occupies  a  whole  block.  On  either  side  of  the  main 
entrance  to  the  building  on  the  Plaza,  are  a  number  of 
shops.  In  fact,  the  basement  is  made  up  mainly  of  them ; 
and  the  back  part  of  the  building  is  divided  up  into 
rooms  and  rented  to  suitable  tenants.  My  quarters 
were  there  for  a  long  time,  facing  on  Calle  de  Paez. 
The  residence  of  the  Bishop  of  Panama  is  on  the  top 
floor.  A  number  of  his  clergy  also  live  within  the 
building,  as  well  as  some  divinity  students.  The  bishop 
has  a  boys'  school.  The  building  has  the  small  central 
patio  or  court,  generally  found  in  all  buildings  of  note. 

The  Church  of  St.  Ana  has  been  referred  to  earlier ;  it 
gives  its  name  to  the  Plaza  or  Square  of  St.  Ana.  This 
old  church  without  the  walls — for  it  is  one  of  the  oldest 
— has  a  desolate  and  poverty-stricken  air.  In  front 
there  is  a  small  terrace  or  elevation  made  by  a  low  wall, 
reached  by  a  few  broken  stone  steps ;  at  one  time  it  had 
handsome  columns  on  either  side.  The  entrance  to  the 
church  is  a  huge  door.  It  has  a  pure  Moorish  tower  on 
one  side  and  the  restos  or  remains  of  another  opposite. 
Above  are  a  few  windows.  The  building  is  of  stone,  like 
the  cathedral.  Within  it  is  huge,  barren  and  cheerless. 
Substantial  hard  wood  columns  run  from  the  floor  to  the 
roof.     Its  altars  possess  nothing  worthy  of  note.     There 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  45 

are  the  usual  Stations  of  the  Cross  and  a  high  pulpit. 
The  grand  altar  is  unattractive  in  itself,  but  some  of  its 
old,  hammered-out  silver  service  gi-eatly  interested  me, 
— work  made  nearly  two  centuries  ago.  Many  of  the 
things  really  wei*e  curious,  and  the  book-rests  were  par- 
ticularly worthy  of  notice.  They  had  been  hammered 
out  of  sheets  of  virgin  silver  and  backed  by  the  famous 
hard  wood  of  the  Isthmus,  which  is  dense  and  reddish  in 
color.  The  custodia  there  has  an  interesting  history,  for 
it  goes  back  into  that  opulent,  dreamy  past,  and  is  sur- 
rounded with  associations  of  the  old  nobility  of  Spain. 
Thanks  to  my  friend,  the  reverend  Father  Sanguillen, 
together  with  Mr.  Ospino,  I  examined  the  old  place  care- 
fully. Just  in  front  of  the  main  altar  are  a  number  of 
perforated  slabs,  and  below  are  vaults  that  have  been 
closed  for  nearly  a  century  and  a  half.  It  is  said  that 
they  contain  the  remains  of  the  founder  of  the  church, 
El  Conde  de  Santa  Ana,  or  Count  St.  Ana.  This  building 
was  erected  at  his  sole  expense.  I  never  could  obtain 
any  satisfactory  evidence  as  to  what  was  below.  In  the 
floor  are  a  number  of  inscriptions  and  coats-of-arms,  so 
old  in  many  instances  as  to  be  almost  illegible.  One 
huge  coat-of-arms  I  got  a  tracing  of  for  it  had  been  cut 
in  a  slab  of  stone — a  large  affair — and  the  incutting  was 
filled  with  molten  lead.  It  was  that  of  a  titled  family,  as 
the  crown  of  a  marquis  indicated,  and  there  were  many 
quarterings.  In  the  street  adjoining  this  building  there 
crops  up  what  looks  like  the  upper  part  of  an  arched 
way  which  leads  directly  towards  the  church  walls,  but  I 
never  could  get  any  information  about  it.  It  probably  is 
the  top  of  a  subway  connecting  with  the  old  vaults.  It 
may  be  that  in  that  long,  speechless  past — as  the  old  rec- 
ords are  all  destroyed — it  connected  the  church  with  some 
clerical  residences  on  the  opposite  side ;  but  this  is  only 
personal  conjecture.  At  the  back  of  the  church  on  that 
same  street,  a  substantial,  but  narrow  stone  stair  leads 
to  a  narrow  door  opening  into  the  sacristia  or  vestry. 
Above  the  latter  are  some  rooms  of  the  clergy,  and  in 
them  the  reverend  Father  Sanguillen  resides.  Time  and 
poverty  have  wrought  sad  havoc  with  this  old  ruin ;   a 


46  FIVE  YEAIiS  AT  PANAMA. 

contemplation  of  it  is  enough  to  give  one  a  fit  of  the 
worst  kind  of  tropical  blues.  On  the  other  side,  and 
attached  to  the  main  body  of  the  church  are  the  ruins 
of  former  quarters  of  some  of  the  clex-gy. 

The  last  chapel  or  church  that  I  shall  refer  to  is  that 
facing  the  Quinta  Santa  Rita,  the  property  of  Monsieur 
Leblanc.  This  building  was  a  chapel  of  ease  to  the 
Church  of  Santa  Ana.  Before  the  earthquake  of  1882 
it  was  little  better  than  a  ruin  and  its  body  was  roofless. 
There  was  an  old  tower  without  any  bells,  and  the  back 
part  of  the  edifice,  or  what  had  been  the  vestry,  had 
been  covered  in  and  was  used  as  a  small  chapel.  Affixed 
to  a  stout  piece  of  timber  near  the  entrance  was  a  small 
bell  that  was  hammered  at  intervals.  A  small,  but 
exceedingly  poor  congregation  of  colored  people  attended 
there.  The  earthquake  of  1882  destroyed  the  old  Moor- 
ish tower,  which  fell  outward  and  demolished  some  sheds 
in  which  some  of  the  blacks  hved,  which  they  had 
barely  vacated  when  the  roof  and  tower  came  in.  A 
romance  is  connected  with  this  ruin  near  the  foot  of 
Mount  Ancon.  Once  upon  a  time,  as  the  story  books 
have  it,  this  church  had  for  its  padre  a  remarkably 
handsome  and  talented  Spanish  priest,  who  was  as  good 
and  virtuous  as  he  looked.  A  wealthy  Spanish  countess 
who  worshipped  there,  transferred  her  devotion  from  the 
things  above  to  the  padre  in  person.  It  is  said  for  a 
long  time  he  was  unconscious  of  her  admiration.  Later, 
he  became  aware  of  it  and  manfully  ignored  it.  At  last 
the  fair  one  declared  her  passion,  and  great  was  the 
shock  to  that  virtuous  priest.  He  warned  her  and 
expostulated  in  vain  on  her  wickedness ;  her  infatuation 
increased  and  only  ended  when  he  threatened  to  de- 
nounce her  to  the  Inquisition,  then  at  its  zenith  in  Car- 
thagena.  The  terrors  of  the  latter  awed  her,  and  he  died 
as  he  had  lived — good  and  virtuous.  This  is  authentic, 
and  I  could  give  names,  but  refrain  from  doing  so.  I 
may  also  add  that  it  is  the  only  instance  of  the  kind  that 
I  have  heard  of  in  which  a  priest  put  such  delightful 
temptation  behind  him.  He  and  the  old  priest,  the 
savings  of  whose  lifetime  amounted  to    four    hundred 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  47 

dollars,  are  well  worth  mentioning  as  exceptions  to  the 
rule. 

Apropos  of  church  records,  those  of  Santa  Ana  in  part 
have  been  saved.  I  found  in  the  vestry  records  much 
that  was  interesting,  particularly  in  the  extracts  regard- 
ing the  baptism  of  slaves,  nearly  all  of  whom  were 
Indians  who  took  the  names  of  their  owners. 

The  tinkling  of  g  swcfit  toned  bell  often  strikes  the  ears 
of^the  dwellers  in  Panama.  It  is  a  well-known  sound 
and_precedes  a  procession  from  anj_of  the^cHurches 
whenthe  Host  is  carried  to  some  dying  person.  It  is  a 
solemn  sight  at  all  times,  but'oTTardark'TiTghf  it  is  most 
effective.  Please  place  before  your  mental  vision  one  of 
the  narrow  streets,  with  the  old  buildings,  and  in  it  a 
procession  led  by  a  bareheaded  boy  carrying  the  bell. 
Following  him  in  pairs  are  choristers  in  surplices,  of 
course  all  uncovered.  These  with  men  and  women 
carrying  lighted  candles  form  the  advance  guard.  Then 
come  the  acolytes  supporting  a  rich  canopy  under  which 
is  the  priest,  in  the  rich  vestments  of  the  Romish 
Church.  In  his  hands  he  carries  the  custodia  contain- 
ing the  Host,  covered  with  a  pure  white  cloth.  He  is 
followed  by  others,  all  bearing  candles.  On  they  go, 
turning  around,  some  corner  and  disappearing  from 
sight,  but  long  after  they  have  gone,  the  tinkle,  tinkle, 
tinkle  of  that  sad  bell  is  borne  to  one  on  the  night  air, 
telling  of  some  soul  seeking  to  quit  its  earthly  ten- 
ement. It  goes  without  saying  that  all  uncover  as  it 
passes. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SUBURBS    OP    PANAMA — THE   SAVANNA — THE   CHURCH  OF    SAN 
MIGUEL — A   GLIMPSE   OF  THE   PAST. 

The  suburbs  and  outskirts  of  Panama  have  nothing  in 
common  with  the  dehghtful  fragrance  that  welcomed 
me  when  off  Colon.  It  would  be  strictly  truthful  to  say 
that  the  suburbs  are  both  common  and  unclean,  and  in 
many  places  grossly  offensive  to  the  eye  and  smelling 
unto  heaven.  The  civil  authorities  of  Panama  are  to 
blame.  Money  enough  in  all  conscience  is  exacted  from 
the  merchants  and  others  to  keep  things  as  they  should 
be.  They  are  very  careful  about  the  collection  of  the 
money, — but  there  it  ends.  Well  do  I  recall  a  scene 
during  my  visit  to  the  Isthmus  in  February,  1886,  when 
I  saw  Count  de  Lesseps  inspecting  the  canal  plant  under 
the  spiritual  guidance  of  a  German  bishop,  M.  Thiele,  of 
Costa  Rica.  A  lane  leading  from  a  main  thoroughfare 
to  the  seashore,  back  of  the  Protestant  cemetery,  had 
both  of  its  sides  lined  with  piles  and  piles  of  rubbish  and 
old  bedding,  or  that  on  which  people  had  died.  The 
natives  in  Panama  and  in  the  Spanish  West  Indies,  after 
a  death,  throw  away  cots,  mattresses,  pillows,  and  often 
the  eating  utensils  of  the  "  late  departed."  As  many  on 
the  Isthmus,  both  native  and  foreign,  die  of  yellow  fever 
and  small-pox,  this  practice  simply  means  a  constant 
perpetuation  of  the  infectious  and  contagious  diseases 
named.  The  authorities  never  do  anything  more  than 
publish  an  item  upon  reform  in  La  Cronista  or  La 
Estrella  de  Panama.  This  is  deemed  ample,  as  it  gives 
the  people  something  to  think  about,  and  yet  these 
authorities  fondly  fancy  that  they  are  the  sanitarians  of 
the  century.  I  remember  an  old  well  near  the  gas 
works,  one  of  those  huge  stone  wells  which  the  Spaniards 

48 


Cathedral,  Panama. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  49 

were  so  fond  of  building.  That  well  had  been  filled  in 
with  just  such  bedding,  and  at  last  it  coned  up  above  it. 
That  is  their  way,  and  a  very  bad  one  iu  is  too.  We  are 
told  that  the  cackling  of  a  goose  saved  Rome,  but  if  the 
cackling  of  Colombian  birds  could  save  Panama,  I  don't 
think  the  cackle  is  in  them.  Apropos  of  the  Holy  City, 
one  reads  that  all  roads  lead  to  Rome.  At  Panama 
there  are  two  main  roads ;  one  leads  to  the  cemeteries 
and  the  other  to  the  Canal  Hospitals.  Within  the  city 
there  is  but  a  single  walk  away  from  the  din  and 
noisome  smells.  This  is  the  old  battery,  and  an  excellent 
walk  it  makes.  The  old  Spanish  guns  disappeared  in 
the  long  past,  and  it  is  said  that  all  that  were  of  brass 
were  sold.  There,  perhaps  thirty  feet  above  the  sea,  is 
a  large  open  space,  which  is  well  cemented  and  smooth. 
Its  sides  are  guarded  by  walls  many  feet  thick  and  they 
rise  above  the  floor  some  three  feet,  with  stone  seats  on 
either  side.  The  battery  forms  the  top  of  the  prison  of 
Panama.  The  view  therefrom  is  very  interesting. 
Looking  back  over  the  ground  that  one  traverses  to 
reach  it,  is  the  city  with  its  old  Moorish  towers  and  red 
tile  roofs ;  and  back  of  this  again  is  Mount  Ancon,  five 
hundred  and  four  feet  high,  well  wooded  and  attractive. 
Following  the  scene  along  to  the  left  is  the  Indian 
hamlet  of  La  Boca,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Grand  river. 
Back  of  it  are  hills  and  in  the  distance  the  Andes  of 
South  America.  Again,  allowing  the  eyes  to  follow  the 
coast  line,  more  green  and  mountains  are  seen.  Along 
the  horizon  oceanward  pretty  islands  stand  ovit  and  dot 
the  sea.  Continuing  the  circle,  is  a  long  stretch  of 
water  and  on  the  other  side  the  distant  shore  forms  that 
part  of  the  Gulf  of  Panama.  Following  the  shore  line 
the  ancient  tower  of  St.  Anastasius,  at  old  Panama,  will 
be  seen,  the  sole  landmark  of  that  once  powerful  city. 
During  my  long  residence  at  Panama  I  made  it  a  rule  to 
spend  an  hour  a  day  there — from  five  to  six  in  the  after- 
noon— and  have  a  little  pure  air.  It  was  a  pleasant  and 
profitable  time.  Strange  to  say,  save  on  a  Sunday  when 
the  band  plays  there,  very  few  visit  the  place,  and  the 
few  were  almost  without  exception  foreigners,  the 
4 


50  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

native  Panamanians  being  great  stay-at-lionies.  During 
the  grand  moonlight  of  the  dry  season  that  sj^ot  was 
doubly  attractive.  There  was  a  blending  of  all  of  the 
richest  mountain  scenery,  ocean,  islands — all  bathed  in 
the  purest  of  tropical  moonbeams,  to  be  enjoyed  within 
sound  of  the  sea. 

The  road  leading  to  the  cemetery  is  not  popular,  and 
as  "gringos"  or  foreigners  "get  there"  so  often  invol- 
untarily, it  has  no  charm  for  them.  The  road  to  the 
savanna,  past  the  station  and  canal  hospitals,  once  be- 
yond the  city  lunits,  is  pleasant  and  attractive.  There 
one  gets  out  into  the  open.  I  want  you  to  picture  to 
yourself  a  huge  stretch  of  mesa  or  table  land,  as  smooth 
as  possible,  rich  in  tropical  green  and  stretching  for 
miles  in  all  directions.  It  is  broken  here  and  there  with 
clumps  of  trees,  and  an  occasional  rancho  or  native  hut, 
or  by  some  summer  residence.  The  whole  closed  in,  in 
the  distance,  by  the  Andes.  Many  people  used  to  go  out 
there  for  drives  to  get  a  mouthful  of  pure  air  and  leave 
malodorous  Panama  behind.  During  the  dry  season 
many  occupy  summer  residences  there.  On  that  plain 
to  the  right  as  you  leave  the  city,  there  was  fought  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  battles  on  this  continent;  the 
first  battle,  properly  so  called,  by  white  against  white. 
There  it  was  that  the  bold  and  fiery  Welshman,  Henry 
Morgan,  led  his  buccaneers  against,  and  put  to  flight  the 
flower  of  the  Spanish  cavalry  and  infantry,  and  then 
captured  old  Panama. 

The  Church  of  San  Miguel  is  on  the  savanna  not  far 
from  the  city.  Its  front  is  plain,  and  in  the  upper  wall 
are  two  broad  niches  or  openings,  within  which  are 
strung  the  bells.  It  is  a  very  plain  edifice  and  is  covered 
with  that  horror  of  horrors,  yellow -wash.  Why  it 
should  be  put  on  churches  when  so  many  other  things 
seem  to  demand  it,  is  not  clear. 


r"" 


■#«".."<= 


T  III  J.J  I  foi 

■-  ^;Jkt4fii|iiijiiii|*wiinj 

iiiiirr 


Oil  rif/Jit,  Bishop's  Palace. 
(}n  left,  Old-time  Houses,  Panama  City. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

LIFE    AMONG    THE    LOWLY — RANCHOS  ;     THEIR  CONSTRUCTIOX 

AND     INTIMATES — MODES     OF     LIVING — NO  DIVORCES     OR 

SCANDALS — NATIVE      POTTERY— PRIMITIVE  OR    PASTORAL 
LIFE. 

The  Indians  and  the  negroes  in  Colombia  away  are 
not  greatly  given  to  marriage.  They  simply  get  mated. 
I  use  the  word  advisedly.  The  women  of  the  poor  or 
laboring  class  do  not  care  for  matrimony,  theii'  stated 
objection  being  that  if  they  were  true  and  lawful  wives 
their  husbands  would  iU  treat  them,  whereas  as  long  as 
they  are  mated,  the  man  will  be  on  his  good  conduct; 
to  one  who  knows  something  of  the  history  of  the  Indian 
tribes  and  their  African  allies  in  that  part  of  the  world, 
there  is  much  sound  reasoning  in  their  view.  These 
women  know  the  men  of  their  class  thoroughly,  and  they 
deem  matrimony  little  better  than  serfdom.  Now,  how 
do  they  live?  With  them  less  "  depends  upon  the  liver  " 
than  with  their  white  brethren  and  sisters.  I  shall  con- 
sider one  couple  of  the  hundreds  and  hundreds.  I  shall 
call  the  man  Juan  or  John,  and  the  woman  Maria  or 
Mary.  It  is  understood  between  the  high  contracting 
parties  that  they  are  to  live  together ;  the  matter  is  ar- 
ranged by  what  may  be  deemed  their  engagement.  He 
builds  a  native  rancho  or  rents  one,  and  in  it  they  live  as 
man  and  wife.  As  a  rule  the  women  are  faithful — strictly 
so.  In  time,  if  they  fail  to  agree,  they  separate.  There 
is  no  vulgar  divorce  or  washing  of  the  family  linen  in 
court  and  in  the  press  to  shock  the  refined  and  act 
injuriously  on  the  groAving  minds  of  children;  they 
simply  divide  the  assets  of  the  partnership — he  takes 
one-half  of  the  children  and  she  the  other  half —and  then 
they  part  and  form  new  unions,  if  they  tliink  fit.     There 

51 


53  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANA3IA. 

is  a  simplicity  and  decency  about  the  matter  in  those 
primitive,  uneducated  people  that  is  really  delightful. 
They  never  have  heard  of  the  great  Napoleon  and  his 
famous,  ''  II  faut  laver  son  tinge  sale  chez  lui."  I  think 
that  these  people  are  natural  philosophers.  But  Juan 
and  Maria  need  a  house  to  live  in  and  Juan  builds  a 
rancho. 

The  native  rancho  or  hut  deserves  description,  both 
for  its  simplicity  and  from  the  fact  that  it  is  earthquake- 
proof.  Its  construction  is  of  the  simplest.  Four  suitable 
trees,  four  to  six  inches  through  are  selected.  They  are 
cut  down  with  machetes.  Above  the  branches  are  lopped 
off  and  got  rid  of.  Where  the  tree  forks,  that  section  is 
retained,  giving  a  Y  piece.  These  ranches  or  huts,  as  a 
rule,  are  squai-e.  The  four  corner  posts  have  their 
lower  ends  deeply  buried  in  the  earth,  which  is  then  care- 
fully packed  down.  Pieces  cross  in  front  and  rear  from 
Y  to  Y.  On  top  of  these  are  laid  the  side  pieces,  which 
are  lashed  with  withes  in  a  deft  and  secure  manner. 
Then  comes  the  construction  of  the  roof,  which  ter- 
minates above  in  a  gable.  More  small  saplings  are  pre- 
pared, their  upper  ends  being  cut  off  at  an  acute  angle. 
When  these  are  put  up  the  latter  are  in  apposition. 
Below  where  they  overlap  the  cross-pieces  they  are 
notched,  and  oftentimes  they  are  secured  to  each  other 
without  a  single  nail.  Pair  after  pair  goes  up ;  then  a 
ridge  piece  is  lashed  to  them.  This  completes  the  frame. 
Long  slender  limbs  of  trees,  or  bamboos,  are  selected,  and 
are  lashed  horizontally  to  the  rafters,  equidistant  from 
each  other,  say  six  inches.  The  thatch  may  be  of  three 
kinds:  native  grasses,  palm  leaves,  or  oleanders.  On 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama  the  second  and  last  are  generally 
used.  They  begin  the  work  at  the  bottom.  Bunches 
are  selected  and  are  folded  in  the  middle.  The  fold 
passes  over  the  first  bamboo  rod  and  comes  out  below. 
It  is  put  on  bunch  by  bvmch  until  the  first  row  is  com- 
pleted, and  it  is  the  equivalent  of  a  row  of  shingles  or 
tiles.  Next  they  prepare  the  row  above,  one  overlapping 
the  other,  until  the  topmost  rows  are  reached.  Here, 
with  that  native  ingenuity  that  characterizes  all  their 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  53 

■work,  they  dispense  with  weather-boards  and  by  strip- 
ping trees  of  their  bark  or  portions  of  the  palm,  they 
secure  broad,  pliable  bands  of  substantial  material. 
This  fits  accurately  all  along  the  gable.  At  times,  to 
prevent  this  from  flying  off,  they  lash  Y-shaped  pieces 
together  and  weight  them  down  with  stone.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  ranchos  are  built  without  a  nail,  the  machete 
doing  it  all. 

In  many  instances  the  upper  story  or  attic  is  the  sleep- 
ing apartment.  When  so  used  they  run  cross-pieces  from 
the  side  pieces  and  make  a  floor  of  the  small  limbs  of 
trees,  or  better,  of  bamboo.  A  hole  or  hatchway  is  cut 
in  the  floor.  A  stairway  is  made  out  of  a  piece  of  a 
tree,  perhaps  twelve  inches  thick.  It  is  laid  on  its  side 
when  notches  or  steps  are  cut  in  it  at  an  acute  angle. 
This  piece  of  timber,  when  its  foot-piece  is  buried  in  the 
ground  rests  at  an  angle  of  about  thirty  degrees 
with  its  top  projecting  into  the  attic ;  hence  a  stairway. 
More  suitable  material  is  selected  for  the  sides  of  the  hut 
and  is  put  in  vertically,  or  horizontally,  as  no  particular 
architecture  obtains.  They  are  literally  the  architects  of 
their  own  fortunes  and  their  own  houses.  These  are 
the  equivalents  of  scantlings.  The  sides  are  often  ingen- 
iously made  in  split  bamboo  plaited  after  the  manner  of 
basket  making,  and  the  chinks  are  filled  in  with  mud. 
When  done  windows  are  made.  Of  course  the  door  is 
in  front.  Occasionally  these  houses  have  a  back  door. 
The  small  machetes  are  used  for  hewing  out  rude  planks 
and  from  these  they  make  their  doors  and  blinds.  It  is 
thus  that  a  cholo  or  Indian,  or  negro  makes  a  home  for 
his  mate.  At  times  there  are  partitions  within,  made  of 
bamboo.  Such  edifices  are  not  noted  for  their  privacy. 
A  little  enclosure  is  made  around  it,  generally  by  cut- 
ting down  young  saplings.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the 
latter  commence  budding  almost  at  once,  and  soon  they 
have  a  live  hedge.  Now  I  have  domiciled  the  couple. 
How  do  they  live?  say  you.  Capitally.  Juan  is  a 
natural  sportsman.  The  forest  abounds  in  small  game ; 
there  are  parrots,  monkeys,  native  pigeons,  iguanos — 
the  latter  a  species  of  lizard — together  with  small  deer. 


54  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

The  waters  along  the  coast  are  full  of  fish,  turtle  and 
oysters.  Thus  they  have  game  and  fish.  Dame  Nature 
has  two  kinds  of  ready  made  bread  for  them ;  first,  the 
banana,  or  lazy  man's  fruit;  next  its  first  cousin,  the 
plantain,  rich  in  sugar,  which  when  roasted  is  most  nu- 
tritious. If  he  wants  an  intoxicant — and  the  early 
settlers  had  their  spirituous  drinks  long  before  the  Span- 
iards arrived — he  cuts  down  a  species  of  palm,  hews  out 
a  central  gutter  and  into  it  flows  the  sugary  sap ;  fer- 
mentation takes  place,  and  a  white,  milky  intoxicating 
fluid  i-esults— a  sort  of  natural  milk  punch  with  all  the 
properties  of  the  other  kind.  He  thus  has  his  game 
and  fish  and  headaches  already  for  him. 

As  the  country  abounds  in  clayey,  sandy  soil  he  can 
make  his  own  pottery  and  make  his  own  fire  for  baking. 
Thus,  kitchen  utensils  are  ready.  For  the  equivalent  of 
spoons  and  knives  he  cuts  gourds  into  elliptical  pieces. 
Small  gourds  make  famous  bowls,  baskets  and  the  like ; 
many  of  the  larger  ones  will  hold  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
bushel.  They  sleep  in  hammocks,  French  fashion,  one 
by  one.  Sometimes  a  species  of  bench  or  bed  is  made  of 
bamboo ;  over  it  they  throw  a  hide  and  sleep  thereon.  I 
can  say  from  personal  experience  that  they  are  most 
uncomfortable  couches.  The  hammocks  are  generally 
woven  by  the  women;  and,  apropos  of  the  dexterity  of 
these  people,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  early  Span- 
ish discoverers  found  among  the  natives  a  species  of 
well  made  cotton  cloth.*  Tables  are  easily  constructed. 
Sitting  in  a  hammock  is  the  equivalent  of  a  chair  with 
all  the  advantages  of  a  rocker.  Logs  of  wood  are  also 
used  for  sitting  upon ;  they  are  slightly  hollowed  out  in 
the  centre,  and  they  are  not  at  all  bad  in  their  way. 
Having  set  them  up  in  housekeeping,  what  is  the 
woman's  share?  She  takes  care  of  the  house  and  the 
children,  while  Juan  provides  food.  Eaiment  for  the 
children  is  not  deemed  necessary,  for  they  don't  have 
any  as  a  rule  until  they  are  five  or  six  years  old. 

Man,  like  other  animals,  consumes  weeds.     Juan  likes 

*  "  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus." 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  55 

tobacco.  He  can  raise  an  excellent  article  for  himself. 
A  fine  grade  of  tobacco  is  grown  in  Colombia ;  it  is  known 
as  ambalama.  The  early  Spanish  discoverers  were 
greatly  astonished  to  find  smokers  among  the  Indians  of 
Cuba,  as  smoking  previously  was  unknown  to  them.* 
In  the  cities  men  make  it  up  into  poco  tiempo  cigars. 
This  literally  translated  means  "a  little  while."  It  is 
a  small  cigar,  about  three  inches  long,  sharp  at  both 
ends  and  bellying  in  the  middle.  Some  years  ago  they 
could  be  had  in  Panama  City  for  ninety  cents  a  hundred, 
but  that  was  before  the  advent  of  the  canalers.  Cigar- 
makers  generally  kept  them  in  large  carboys,  in  order  to 
allow  them  to  mature.  In  the  country  the  women  make 
the  cigars,  and  generally  smoke  them  too,  as  they  have 
one  called  the  cigarro  de  las  mujeres.  These  women's 
cigars  are  the  counterpart  of  the  long  "whiffs  "  known  to 
smokers.  Women  smoke  in  a  peculiar  way  on  the  Isth- 
mus, which  I  have  noted  time  and  again  ;  they  hold  the 
lighted  end  in  the  mouth.  At  first  sight  this  seems  an 
extraordinary  statement,  but  it  has  the  merit  of  being  an 
absolutely  accurate  one.  The  other  end  is  used  for  light- 
ing the  cigar  when  it  is  reversed.  As  to  what,  if  any, 
benefit  is  derived  from  this  method  of  smoking  I  do  not 
know.  It  is  certain  that  it  must  require  great  dexterity 
to  smoke  in  that  way,  and  to  avoid  burning  the  tongue 
and  the  delicate  mucous  membrane  of  the  mouth.  One 
would  fancy  from  general  knowledge  that  this  style  of 
smoking  would  lead  to  no  end  of  diseases  within  the 
mouth,  but  I  have  never  heard  of  its  causing  anything 
like  cancer. 

If  Juan  and  Maria  want  coffee  they  can  grow  it.  Cof- 
fee is  the  universal  drink  and  tea  the  exception.  A 
native  tea  plant  is  found  in  the  United  States  of  Colom- 
bia that  is  said  to  be  a  near  relative  of  the  Chinese  plant, 
and  latterly,  I  believe,  some  scientific  investigation  has 
been  made  on  the  subject.  Having  tea  and  coffee  they 
want  sugar.  Such  climates,  as  my  readers  are  aware, 
are  the  natural  homes  of  the  sugar  cane.     That  succulent 

*  "  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus." 


56  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

and  strongly  fibred  stalk  serves  a  threefold  purpose ;  it 
yields  sugar  and  fuel,  and  the  stalk  when  chopped  up  is 
given  to  cattle.  In  many  parts  of  the  interior  cattle  are 
fed  upon  it  for  days  together  when  making  long  trips, 
and  it  is  said  they  enjoy  it.  A  native  sugar  mill  is  worth 
a  brief  mention.  It  consists  of  three  upright  cylinders, 
the  outer  ones  being  five  or  six  feet  long.  They  are 
twelve  to  fifteen  inches  through,  and  are  made  of 
guaiacum  or  lignum-vita?,  a  densely  hard  native  tree. 
The  central  cylinder  rises  above  its  fellows  some  eighteen 
inches  or  two  feet,  and  through  its  upper  part  a  substan- 
tial piece  of  wood  is  rung,  one  end  projecting  twelve  or 
fifteen  feet  beyond  the  mill.  This  is  at  a  right  angle 
with  the  cylinders.  The  central  cylinder  has  a  number 
of  square  holes  or  depressions,  and  the  outside  cylinders 
have  square  blocks  of  wood  let  into  them,  which  are  the 
equivalent  of  cogs.  These  square  cogs  play  in  the  re- 
cesses of  the  central  cylinder,  and  one  of  the  cogs  is  always 
in  one  of  the  openings.  The  motive  power  is  furnished 
by  oxen,  and  by  a  native  attachment  they  are  fastened  to 
the  long  arm.  As  the  oxen  walk  round  and  round  in  a 
circle  the  cylinders  revolve,  and  as  they  are  very  closely 
set  together  in  a  most  substantial  frame,  the  cane  pass- 
ing between  them  must  undergo  strong  pressure.  The 
juice  runs  into  a  wooden  tray,  from  whence  it  flows  into 
a  large  receptacle  below.  Then  comes  the  boiling  proc- 
ess. Generally  a  huge,  old-time  iron  kettle  is  used,  set 
in  crude  masonry.  The  fuel  used  is  dry  magass  or 
bagass,  the  name  given  to  the  dried  cane  trash.  In 
some  places  one  name  obtains,  and  in  others  the  other. 
The  sugar  boiler  oftentimes  is  some  fearful  old  crone 
who  looks  like  a  veritable  witch  presiding  over  some 
seething  caldron.  Generally  she  sits  perched  up  on  a 
seat  or  pile  of  stones,  and  in  her  skinny,  bronzed  hands 
she  holds  a  dipper  of  native  manufacture  which  consists 
of  a  long  piece  of  wood  with  a  half  of  a  gourd  fastened 
to  one  end.  The  handle  of  this  dipper  passes  through 
the  gourd  bowl.  She  constantly  keeps  filling  the  dipper, 
lifting  it  high  in  air  and  allowing  the  syrup  to  flow  back 
slowly  into  the  caldron.      Partially  boiled  cane  juice 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  57 

when  almost  cool  is  a  pleasant  and  sweet  drink,  and 
after  wandering  through  the  forest  in  search  of  curios,  I 
have  found  it  excellent.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it 
slakes  thirst.  The  boiling  completed,  the  sugar  has  to 
be  run  into  moulds.  The  latter  are  of  a  very  simple 
type.  A  block  of  wood,  three  or  four  feet  long,  has  a 
series  of  cup-shaped  excavations  on  its  upper  surface. 
These  are  filled  with  the  boiling  sugar.  It  cools,  and 
cakes  of  sugar,  weighing  about  a  pound  and  a  half 
apiece,  are  obtained.  When  these  are  wrapped  up  in 
plantain  leaves,  they  are  ready  for  the  market  or  domes- 
tic consumption.  They  are  a  pure  brown  sugar,  most 
agreeable  to  the  taste,  and  of  great  saccharine  power. 
To  all  who  are  fond  of  sweets  a  little  of  it  is  excellent. 

If  Juan  wants  corn  he  can  grow  it  with  ease,  for  the 
country  produces  a  variety  of  Indian  corn,  which  is  a 
very  coarse  article.  With  the  majority  of  these  people 
the  corn  is  reduced  to  a  coarse  powder  by  beating  in  a 
huge  wooden  mortar  with  a  heavy  wooden  pestle.  This 
work  falls  to  the  women.  Their  way  of  baking  it  is  sim- 
plicity itself.  First  it  is  made  up  into  a  paste  with  water 
and  is  thoroughly  kneaded.  It  is  then  spread  out  and 
laid  between  stones  that  have  been  heated  in  the  fire. 
The  result  is  large  corn  pancakes.  Corn  is  also  fed  to 
their  horses  and  mules  when  they  have  them. 

These  people  have  a  lot  of  domestic  remedies  of  their 
own,  and  the  secrets  of  their  pharmacopoeia  are  un- 
known. It  is  certain  that  some  of  their  remedies,  while 
they  might  be  good  for  horses  and  cows,  produce  tre- 
mendous effects  upon  human  beings.  A  shrub  grows  all 
over  the  Isthmus  that  has  a  plum-like  fruit,  and  resem- 
bles a  large  green  gage,  having  within  it  at  maturity 
four  black  seeds.  This  plant  is  a  first  cousin  of  that 
yielding  croton  oil.  Juan  considers  half  a  bean  a  dose 
in  certain  cases.  Occasionally,  they  take  a  whole  bean 
with  a  little  water — with  tremendous  results.  I  cannot 
describe  these  further  than  to  say  that  unless  the  medi- 
cine all  but  ties  them  up  in  a  double  knot  they  are  not 
satisfied  with  the  result,  and  consider  that  they  are  not 
well  treated. 


58  FIVE  YEARS  AT  Pui^'^AMA. 

By  the  way,  I  have  omitted  to  say  that  a  native 
cHmber  there  with  a  long  hard  cover,  resembling  a  huge 
cucumber,  has  within  it  a  substance,  which,  when 
divested  of  its  seeds  makes  an  excellent  sponge.  If  they 
are  really  anxious  to  keep  their  skins  clean,  a  native 
])lant  called  the  jaboncilla  gives  them  a  natural  soap 
which  produces  an  abundant  and  soft  lather.  Many  of 
the  natives  living  near  the  water  bathe,  and,  as  I  have 
previously  observed,  there  obtains  a  delightful  natural- 
ism all  through  that  country.  The  men  and  women 
may  be  seen  bathing  in  streams  quite  near  to  each  other, 
and  they  wear  a  bathing  suit  that  fits  them  admirably 
and  gives  the  same  clear  idea  of  their  classic  proportions 
that  one  can  get  at  English  and  American  bathing  places. 
The  peons  on  the  Isthmus  bathe  in  that  closest  of  tailor- 
made  garments — their  native  modesty. 

The  cooking  is  lai'gely  done  in  iron  pans  and  earthen- 
ware pots  and  it  is  of  the  simplest.  They  are  very  fond 
of  rice.  This  is  generally  cooked  in  American  lard.  At 
times  they  add  to  it  tasado,  or  dried  beef.  From  the 
forests  around  they  cull  chillies  and  aromatic  leaves  and 
make  toothsome,  nutritious  dishes.  The  rice  almost 
takes  the  place  of  bread.  Native  rice  commands  a 
higher  price  on  the  Isthmus  than  the  best  selected 
Chinese  varieties,  the  best  of  it  coming  from  the  depart- 
ment of  Chiriqui,  adjoining  Costa  Rica.  I  had  almost 
forgotten  a  most  important  item  of  their  diet — frijoles. 
Under  this  name,  perhaps  few  of  my  readers  will  recog- 
nize the  brain  food  of  cultured  Boston,  for  frijoles  is  the 
equivalent  of  beans. 

In  the  mountains  wild  turkey  can  be  found,  and  a 
very  pretty  bird  it  is.  It  is  almost  the  size  of  our 
domestic  turkey,  and  is  capital  eating.  A  turkey  is 
called  pavo,  on  the  Isthmus.  In  the  republic  of  Guate- 
mala, in  Central  America,  it  is  called  champipe,  an 
Indian  name,  and  when  you  reach  Mexico  it  has  been 
converted  into  a  guacolete.  The  Colombians  capture 
these  birds  and  domesticate  them,  and  they  have  done 
the  same  with  some  species  of  wild  ducks.  A  Colom- 
bian pig  is  a  remarkable  spectacle,  for  he  is  hardly  bet- 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  59 

ter  than  a  black  spectre — long  haired,  sharp  snouted — a 
very  ghost  of  his  domesticated  cousin.  In  the  inoun- 
tains  are  many  peccaries,  a  diminutive  species  of  wild 
hog,  which  are  excellent  eating.  In  some  parts  of 
Colombia  hogs  run  wild  and  after  a  time  become  very 
ugly  and  dangerous.  The  boars  will  rip  a  horse  open  or 
attack  a  man  upon  the  slightest  provocation. 

Apropos  of  boar  hunting,  one  of  my  friends,  an  Eng- 
lishman, left  his  vessel,  the  cable  ship  Silvertoivn, 
when  off  the  coast  of  Ecuador,  and  with  a  party  went 
on  shore  to  shoot  wild  boars.  After  a  great  deal  of  work ' 
one  was  sighted,  and  it  was  my  friend's  good  luck  to 
bowl  him  over.  It  was  considered  quite  an  event  and 
he  was  the  hero  of  that  sliooting  party.  Telling  one's 
friends  in  Old  England  about  shooting  wild  boars  in 
South  America  sounds  remarkably  well  and  savors  of 
unknown  climates  and  tropical  forests,  while  the  whole 
is  spiced  with  a  little  danger.  But  the  next  morning  an 
irate  native  came  on  board  and  insisted  upon  having  six 
dollars  for  his  domestic  hog  that  had  been  shot  by  this 
Englishman.  Great  was  the  disgust  of  that  tropical 
Nimrod,  and  a  mere  mention  of  wild  boar  to  J.  G.  for 
the  rest  of  that  trip  resulted  in  an  atmosphere  that  was 
absolutely  cerulean. 

Juan  and  Maria  cannot  freeze,  as  the  climate  is  one  of 
perpetual  summer ;  and  how  can  they  starve  when  na- 
ture has  done  so  much  for  them?  Juan  is  a  republican 
in  name  but  a  free-trader  at  heart.  Of  taxes  and  restric- 
tions he  will  have  none,  be  they  war  taxes  or  otherwise. 
In  all  matters  relating  to  the  party  in  power  he  is  a  mug- 
wump of  the  first  water.  And  he  has  the  same  affection 
for  Chinamen  that  a  Eepublican  Senate  has  on  the  eve 
of  a  Presidential  election.  In  matters  of  religion  he  is  a 
free-thinker  during  life,  but  generally  ends  by  dying  a 
Catholic.  He  works  for  others  when  it  suits  him,  but 
not  otherwise.  He  scorns  the  daily  paper  and  has  no 
knowledge  of  prize-fights  and  cablegrams,  but  he  dearly 
loves  a  cock-fight,  and  he  calls  upon  all  the  saints  in  his 
Colombian  calendar  to  bless  his  bird.  He  is  a  home- 
ruler  of  the  first  water,  and  like  the  other  members  of 


60  FiVE  YEAliS  AT  PANAMA. 

tliat  class  over  tlic  water,  would  rather  have  a  row  than 
otherwise.  As  for  the  rest  of  humanity,  or  the  world 
at  large,  he  cares  little. 

When  one  pauses  to  think  over  this  primitive  life 
there  is  much  food  for  reflection.  This  people,  little  bet- 
ter than  semi-savages  when  sober,  and  blood-thirsty 
when  drunk,  have  a  school  of  philosophy  unknown  to 
us.  Tliey  manage  their  domestic  affairs  with  ability, 
and  by  their  quiet  settling  of  conjugal  rows,  teach  us 
highly  civilized  moderns  a  lesson  that  should  make  us 
heartily  ashamed  of  divorce  courts  and  their  unclean 
revelations. 

Juan  and  Maria  have  their  own  amusements.  Danc- 
ing is  a  perfect  passion  with  tlieir  class.  They  get  their 
nuisic  from  a  species  of  drum,  a  mere  wooden  cylinder 
one  head  of  which  is  covered  over  with  skin.  This  is  a 
lineal  descendant  of  the  African  tom-tom.  By  beating 
it  regularly,  with  alternate  rolls,  they  get  all  the  music 
they  want.  They  dance  endlessly,  perspire  profusely, 
and,  if  the  whole  truth  is  in  order,  smell  abominably. 
Saturday  night  is  the  night  2Mr  excellence  for  festivities. 
The  dance  is  a  species  of  danzita  or  a  slow  waltz.  In  it 
they  introduce  many  features  of  the  old  time  Spanish 
cachuca.  To  give  my  readers  an  intelligent  idea  of  this 
latter  will  be  difficult,  without  offending  a  hypersensi- 
tive class.  I  may  say  that  traces  of  this  can  be  de- 
tected in  the  dances  of  polite  society  in  the  Spanish 
West  Indies  to  this  day.  While  the  peculiar  movement 
referred  to  is  modernized  among  the  polite  class,  among 
tlie  class  to  which  Juan  and  Maria  belong  there  is  no 
suppression  either  of  activity  or  of  movement.  They 
dance,  make  merry,  and  drink.  If  a  violin  can  be 
secured,  that  is  ecstasy  and  no  mistake.  The  dance  of 
dances  is  the  "son."  To  the  ordinary  ear  its  music  has 
no  peculiar  significance,  except  that  it  sounds  like  good 
dance  time,  but  its  effect  upon  the  lower  classes  is 
simply  magical.  Even  if  they  have  been  dancing  for 
hours,  and  are  exhausted,  they  seem  to  take  on  a  super- 
human activity.  The  music  seems  to  call  all  the  animal 
instincts  into  play  and  it  acts  on  the  peon  class  in  the 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  61 

same  way  that  the  music  of  the  voodoo  dance  does  upon 
the  lower  classes  in  Hayti.* 

Juan  aftei"  a  time  follows  his  ancestors  and  dies. 
Then  there  is  a  Colombian  wake — and  an  awful  thing  it 
is.  My  previous  ideas  of  wakes  had  been  derived  from 
reading,  and  from  seeing  Dion  Boucicault  in  the  ' '  Shau- 
graun."  A  Colombian  wake  was  a  revelation  to  me,  and 
the  first  one  I  thought  would  have  been  the  death  of  me. 
It  seemed  as  if  pandemonium  had  got  loose  and  I  had 
been  constituted  the  cyclonic  centre.  The  body  is  laid 
out  in  a  room  in  the  rancho,  or  house,  if  they  Uve  in  a 
house  properly  so  called.  Two  candles  are  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  bier,  and  two  at  the  foot.  At  his  head  sits 
Maria,  while  around  the  sides  of  the  room  are  relatives 
and  friends.  Whenever  a  new-comer  arrives  a  wail 
of  anguish  goes  up  that  is  really  dreadful  to  hear :  I  can- 
not describe  it.  This  intermittent  sorrow  breaks  out  with 
the  advent  of  every  new  arrival,  and  it  lasts  all  night. 
The  people  at  the  wake  are  supplied  with  tobacco  and 
iinisado,  or  whatever  it  may  be  in  the  shape  of  liquor. 
The  burial  is  simple.  Where  coffins  can  be  rented  for  a 
small  fee,  as  in  the  cities  of  Panama  and  Colon,  the  body 
is  taken  out  in  one  and  at  the  cemetery  is  enveloped  in  a 
sheet,  and  buried.  In  the  country  parts  a  simple  cross 
of  native  workmanship  marks  the  grave  and  Juan  is  at 
rest.  The  seasons  come  and  go,  the  sunshine  bathes  the 
luxuriant  vegetation ;  moon  follows  moon,  and  Juan  like 
a  fallen  leaf  is  of  the  past.  These  burials  among  the 
lower  classes  in  Colombia  are  simple  and  almost  in  keep- 
ing with  our  own  ideas.  But  it  is  not  so  in  Central 
America  with  this  same  class  of  people.  Once  while  in 
Retalhelen,  one  of  the  coast  cities  of  Guatemala,  I  was 
in  my  room  in  a  wretched  building,  called  a  hotel  by 
courtesy,  when  the  music  of  a  rattling  polka  reached 
me.  I  looked  out  of  the  window  and  saw  a  wholly  novel 
sight.  Below  was  a  funeral  led  by  a  violinist  and  a 
couple  of  men  with  cornets,  who  were  playing  away  as 
merrily  as  possible.     Then  followed  a  man  with  a  child's 

*  "  Hayti ;"  St.  Merv,  Paris.  "  Hayti ;  or,  The  Black  Republic,"  London. 


62  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

coffin  on  his  head.  Next  came  the  mother,  a  small 
Indian  woman,  partially  clad  and  staggering  along 
under  the  combined  load  of  aguardiente  (ardent  water) 
and  sorrow.  In  Nicaragua  coffins  are  carried  on  plat- 
forms, the  latter  being  on  the  shoulders  of  men.  On 
reaching  the  Atlantic  coast  of  that  Republic,  some  of  my 
English  friends  in  San  Juan  del  Norte,  or  Greytown,  as 
some  call  it,  told  me  of  the  way  in  which  children  were 
buried  there  a  few  years  before.  Prior  to  the  funeral 
the  child  was  set  up  in  a  chair,  dressed  in  his  or  her 
best,  covered  with  flowers  and  placed  opposite  a  window, 
where  passers-by  could  see  the  body.  At  the  funeral  the 
corpse  was  placed  in  a  chair  and  carried  at  the  head  of 
the  procession  to  the  burial  ground.  It  was  followed  by 
friends,  laughing,  chatting  and  smoking.  This  revolting 
custom  has  almost  died  out.  Speaking  of  burials  in 
Colombia,  there  are  peculiar  stone  altars  that  sometimes 
are  seen  in  Colombian  cities,  in  the  fields,  or  by  the 
roadside.  They  are  built  of  masonry  four  or  five  feet 
high,  and  each  is  surmounted  by  a  small  cross.  The 
altar  is  kept  whitewashed.  At  the  foot  of  the  cross  one 
or  two  skulls  may  be  seen  and  a  small  recess  or  niche  for 
a  light.  These  strange  looking  things  in  odd  places 
excited  my  curiosity  at  first.  Generally  one  is  put  up 
on  the  exact  spot  where  some  one  has  been  murdered  in 
the  past. 

On  certain  holidays  the  faithful  supply  these  altars 
with  candles  or  with  oil  and  tapers.  When  breezes 
blow,  a  sheet  of  perforated  tin  rests  against  the  niche. 
To  come  upon  one  of  these  late  at  night  in  an  out- 
of-the-way  place,  to  any  one  of  an  active  imagina- 
tion, is  very  suggestive  of  bloodshed,  victims,  and  all 
that  is  uncanny.  I  have  done  some  thinking  of  that 
kind  myself  under  these  circumstances.  As  murders 
still  are  common  in  those  countries,  and  were  commoner 
in  the  past,  many  of  these  altars  inay  be  seen.  Some- 
times the  crosses  are  decked  with  streamers.  As  I  have 
said,  the  masses  are  ignorant  and  superstitious,  little 
better  than  semi-savages.  In  Guatemala  the  same  class 
of  people  think  they  are  doing  the  Almighty  honor  by 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  63 

discharging  rockets  called  cohetes.  They  send  them  up 
by  day  and  at  all  hours  of  the  night.  These  countries 
teem  with  barbaric  customs  of  this  kind,  of  which  the 
outside  world  has  no  knowledge. 

The  men  and  women  of  the  peon  class  generally  wear 
cotton  goods;  the  women  a  simple  short  skirt  with 
bodice  above.  They  go  about  barefooted  and  bare- 
headed, for  boots,  shoes  and  stockings  to  them  mean 
high  civilization,  and  when  they  get  into  the  towns  and 
crowd  their  great  splay  feet  into  boots  and  shoes,  their 
gait  and  faces  often  indicate  their  torture.  The  men,  even 
when  travelling  in  the  forest,  wear  only  a  coarse  leather 
sandal.  This  is  a  piece  of  sole  leather,  the  shape  of  the 
foot,  and  fastened  to  it  in  much  the  same  way  as  one 
would  put  on  a  snow  shoe  in  Canada,  save  that  one 
thong  passes  between  the  great  toe  and  the  next.  In 
the  forests  they  run  many  dangers  from  venomous 
snakes  and  often  are  bitten  and  die  fearful  deaths.  I 
remember  having  seen  a  snake  skin,  the  property  of  the 
late  James  Boyd,  the  former  proprietor  of  the  Star  and 
Herald,  of  Panama,  which  was  thirteen  feet  long  and 
eighteen  inches  across.  The  snake  had  killed  a  man 
and  later  was  shot  through  the  middle.  A  very  pretty 
snake  is  the  coral  snake:  it  is  about  eighteen  inches 
long  and  its  body  consists  of  alternate  diamonds  of  red 
and  black.  It  is  really  a  beautiful  thing.  Its  bite  is 
death.  The  Isthmus,  like  other  tropical  countries, 
abounds  in  snakes.  During  the  time  that  my  brother, 
the  late  Dr.  George  W.  Nelson,  was  resident  surgeon  of 
the  canal  hospitals  on  the  Panama  side,  one  of  the 
orderlies,  a  Jamaica  negro,  thought  he  would  have  a 
snake  hunt  within  the  hospital  grounds.  He  was  suc- 
cessful in  finding  the  snake,  but  despite  his  dexterity,  he 
was  bitten  between  the  toes  and  died  the  next  day. 
Dead  snakes  for  scientific  study  are  all  very  well  in  their 
way,  but  hunting  live  ones  would  have  no  charm  for 
me.  Speaking  of  snakes  recalls  a  remarkable  circum- 
stance that  happened  while  I  was  at  Panama.  Bright 
and  early  one  morning  an  officer  from  one  of  the  ships 
of  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company  came  to  me. 


G4  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

He  had  been  bitten  on  the  fourth  finger  while  on  board 
of  his  vessel.  The  British  Consul  in  Guayaquil,  Ecuador, 
I  was  told  had  secured  a  large  snake  which  was 
supposed  to  be  of  a  new  species.  A  case  was  specially 
prepared  for  tlie  snake,  and  it  was  shipped  to  the  Old 
Country  to  scientists  for  examination.  The  trip  from 
Guayaquil,  Ecuador,  to  the  Gulf  of  Panama  was  un- 
eventful. While  in  the  gulf  the  young  officer  alluded 
to  went  on  duty  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  On 
getting  on  the  bi-idge  he  noticed  some  things  twisting 
about  on  the  stanchions.  He  investigated,  and  to  his 
surprise  found  a  lot  of  little  snakes  crawling  up  and 
down  them  and  over  the  deck.  It  was  one  of  these  that 
bit  him.  The  spot  turned  black,  and  he  had  shooting 
pains  in  the  arms.  As  is  usual  under  such  circum- 
stances, I  injected  a  dilute  solution  of  ammonia  under 
the  skin  and  gave  it  by  the  mouth,  together  Avith  a  pint 
of  champagne,  when  he  went  to  sleep  and  awoke  feeling 
perfectly  well.  For  days  the  arm  was  sore.  His  salva- 
tion no  doubt  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  snake  was  but 
a  few  hours  old,  for  had  it  been  otherwise  no  power 
could  have  saved  him.  The  snake  in  that  box  was  the 
mother  all  told  of  thirty-six  of  them.  She  and  the  box 
were  thrown  overboard,  and  the  Pacific  Steam  Naviga- 
tion Company  thereafter  refused  such  dangerous  pas- 
sengers. I  sent  a  pair  of  the  young  ones  in  spirits  to  the 
late  Prof.  Spencer  Bayard,  in  Washington,  and  he  in- 
formed me  that  they  were  hooded  vipers  of  the  most 
poisonous  variety.  Mr.  Taylor,  an  American  residing  in 
the  Department  of  Chiriqui,  State  of  Panama,  has  what 
he  believes,  and  I  also  beheve,  is  a  specific  for  snake 
bites.  It  is  a  combination  of  native  seeds  and  woods, 
specimens  of  which  he  gave  me.  A  part  of  them  I  sent 
to  Washington  for  investigation  and  gave  the  other  part 
to  a  friend  in  Philadelphia  who  has  been  making  the 
poisons  of  serpents  a  special  microscopic  study.  I  had 
heard  of  Mr.  Taylor's  skill  in  treating  snake  bites,  and 
I  saw  a  number  of  people  that  had  been  treated  by  him. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  his  treatment  unquestionably 
has  saved  many  lives. 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAiMA.  65 

In  the  Colombian  forests  the  largest  wild  aninial  is  the 
oceolot.  It  is  a  species  of  tiger  eat,  and  varies  in  length 
from  two  to  five  feet.  They  are  beautifully  marked. 
These  animals  will  not  attack  a  man  unless  hungry ;  but 
when  hungry  or  driven  into  a  corner  they  are  dangerous 
to  a  degree. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  CiULF  OF  PANAMA;  ITS  BEAUTIFUL  ISLANDS  AND  OLD 
TIME  PEARL  FISHERIES— FATE  OF  AN  AMERICAN  PEARL 
FISHING  EXPEDITION — POTTERY,  STONE  IMPLEMENTS  AND 
(iOLD  ORNAMENTS  FROM  THE  PREHISTORIC  GRAVES — A 
SKETCH  OF  THE  PAST  HISTORY  OF  THE  ISLANDS  IN  THE 
GULF  OF   PANAMA. 

The  Gulf  of  Panama  is  noted  for  its  islands.  The 
early  history  is  full  of  stories  regarding  them  and  the 
many  gallant  and  daring  exploits  that  have  taken  place 
on  the  shores  and  waters.  The  gulf  is  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  long,  and  opposite  the  city  of  Panama  per- 
haps twenty  miles  across.  The  modern  city  of  Panama 
is  situated  at  its  upper  end.  The  gulf  is  remarkable  for  its 
currents  and  tides,  the  latter  rising  and  falling  from 
sixteen  to  twenty-four  feet,  according  to  the  age  of  the 
moon.  "The  Gulf  of  Panama,  and  the  ocean  for  a  great 
distance  to  the  westward  from  its  mouth,  are  notorious 
for  their  freedom  from  all  breezes ;  the  gulf  lies,  indeed, 
m  the  equatorial  belt  of  calms,  and  sailing  vessels  can 
never  make  much  use  of  the  port  of  Panama.  *  *  * 
As  long,  however,  as  the  question  is  merely  one  of  rail- 
road and  steamship  traffic,  Panama  may  hold  its  own 
against  the  other  Isthmus  cities ;  but  when  the  canal  is 
cut  the  selected  spot  must  be  one  that  shall  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  calms — in  Nicaragua  or  Mexico."  * 

Owing  to  the  doldrums  at  times,  variable  winds  at 
others,  and  strong  currents,  sailing  vessels  have  been 
two  and  three  weeks  beating  up  the  gulf  to  Panama. 
Apropos  of  doldrums,  I  remember  the  case  of  the  British 
sliip  Straun,  a  Canadian  built  vessel.   She  cleared  from 

*  "Greater  Britain,"  DiLke,  New  York. 
66 


The  Cabildo  ok  Town-iiai.i.,  Panama  City. 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  67 

Panama  for  Chili  early  in  May  in  the  year  1884,  if  I 
remember  rightly.  She  got  back  to  Panama  one  hun- 
dred and  five  days  later.  Upon  getting  out  in  the 
gulf  she  struck  the  doldrums  and  beat  up  and  down. 
Once  she  got  across  the  line,  and  for  weeks  was  beating 
about  latitudes  four,  five  and  six  amid  constant  showers  of 
rain,  storms  and  puffs  of  wind.  The  captain,  who  was  well 
known  to  me,  had  taken  on  provisions  for  one  hundred 
days,  more  than  enough  to  take  him  to  Chili.  These 
began  to  fail  and  the  ship's  bottom  from  being  in  those 
sluggish,  warm  waters,  had  become  foul.  The  crew 
spent  the  greater  part  of  their  time  in  catching  and  tor- 
turing sharks.  At  last  he  had  to  put  back  to  Panama. 
He  had  been  at  sea  actually  one  hundred  and  five  days 
from  the  time  he  cleared  from  off  Isla  de  Naos.  This 
will  give  my  readers  some  idea  of  the  doldrums,  or 
region  of  calms,  on  that  side  of  the  Isthmus,  which  are 
one  of  the  most  serious  drawbacks  to  any  ship  canal  in 
that  section.  Of  course  I  merely  refer  to  sailing  vessels. 
Steamship  officers  have  estimated  that  at  times  the 
ciu'rents  in  the  gulf  run  three  to  four  knots  an  hour.  I 
have  known  of  a  vessel  making  Panama,  with  a  cargo  of 
coal,  being  nearly  a  month  beating  up. 

The  islands  nearest  modern  Panama  are  Isla  de  Naos 
and  Flamenco,  or  Dead  Man's  Island.  These  are  about 
three  miles  from  the  city.  Practically,  these  islands 
make  the  port  of  Panama,  for  various  steam  companies 
have  their  anchorages  there,  such  as  the  Pacific  Steam 
Navigation  Company,  a  wealthy  and  influential  English 
corporation,  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company,  and 
others.  At  Isla  de  Naos,  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship 
Company  maintains  a  large  resident  staff  of  officers, 
skilled  workmen,  negroes  and  Chinese ;  the  latter  being 
navies.  They  also  have  extensive  repairing  shops  there 
and  storehouses.  On  the  city  side  of  the  islands,  on  the 
sands,  they  beach  vessels  for  cleaning.  These  are  floated 
in  at  high  water  and  made  fast,  and  at  low  water  they 
are  high  and  dry,  and  gangs  of  men  clean  their  bottoms 
and  paint  them.  The  growth  of  marine  life  in  those 
waters  is  astonishingly  rapid.     I  have  seen,   and  sent 


63  FIVE  YE  Alts  AT  PANAMA. 

barnacles  an  inch  and  an  inch  and  a  half  long  to  that 
well-known  American  scientist,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel 
Lockwood,  of  Freehold,  New  Jersey.  These  barnacles 
had  gi'own  on  the  bottom  of  a  sealer  that  had  been 
cleaned  in  the  Gulf  of  Panama  and  cleared  for  the 
Galapagos  Islands,  off  the  coast  of  Ecuador  almost  under 
the  equator.  She  came  back  at  the  end  of  four  months, 
when  her  bottom  was  so  foul  she  had  to  be  cleaned 
again,  and  I  received  some  of  the  barnacles  from  her 
captain.  Vessels  engaged  in  that  trade  should  be 
cleaned  every  three  months,  if  they  are  to  make  good 
time  and  save  their  coal. 

On  the  other  end  of  the  island  the  canal  company  some 
years  ago  put  up  a  marine  observatory.  It  is  fitted  with 
thermometers,  barometers,  a  maregraph,  and  other  self- 
recording  instruments  for  noting  the  temperature,  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  tide,  and  securing  information  of  that 
nature.  The  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company  have  a 
large  hulk  anchored  off  Flamenco  which  is  used  as  a 
store  ship,  and  some  officers  and  navies  live  aboard  it. 
Near  these  islands  at  dead  low  water  there  is  excellent 
and  safe  anchorage.  Flamenco,  or  Dead  Man's  Island, 
ia  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  Naos.  It  is  largely 
rocky ;  its  southeastern  face  is  a  huge  cliff,  and  on  its 
land  side,  or  that  facing  Naos,  is  the  cemetery  from 
which  it  takes  the  name  Dead  Man's  Island.  It  is  a 
well -filled  cemetery  too.  There  no  end  of  sailors  and 
officers  have  found  final  anchorage  beyond  the  storms 
and  squalls  of  life.  Many  of  these  brave  fellows  have 
been  the  victims  of  yellow  fever.  On  the  face  of  the 
island  towards  the  city  of  Panama  one  sees  a  handsome 
monument,  which  was  erected  to  the  memory  of  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  United  States  ship  Jamestotvn, 
who  fell  victims  to  yellow  fever  while  anchored  there  in 
the  year  1858.  Eighty  of  her  officers  and  crew  are 
buried  there.  She  was  sent  to  the  North  Pacific  and 
kept  there  for  two  years.  Then  she  was  ordered  to  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  No  sooner  did  she  get  into  a  warm 
tropical  climate  than  yellow  fever  again  developed. 
Such  is  the  vitality  of  the  germs  of  that  awful  disease. 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  69 

Some  six  miles  from  these  islands  are  those  of  Toboga, 
El  Moro  and  Toboguilla,  or  Toboga-the-less.  The  island 
of  Toboga  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  long  by  one-half  to 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide.  It  is  the  loftiest  island 
in  that  part  of  the  gulf  and  its  highest  point  is 
908  feet  above  sea  level.  It  is  a  very  pretty 
place  and  a  favorite  resort  for  picnicers.  On  it  are 
two  villages ;  that  of  Toboga,  which  is  the  oldest,  and 
Restingue.  Toboga  has  an  old  time  church  with  the 
usual  Moorish  tower.  Ambitious  people  always  climb 
up  its  narrow,  gloomy  stone  steps,  to  reach  the  belfry, 
and  there  they  obtain  a  magnificent  view  of  the  sur- 
roundings— and  very  picturesque  they  are.  The  church 
stands  upon  a  slight  elevation.  Below  and  around  it  are 
streets  of  all  kinds  which  are  impassable  for  vehicles, 
being  rough  and  bad.  The  houses  are  of  the  simplest — 
generally  ranchos  with  a  thatch  of  palm  or  oleander. 
There  are  some  built  of  stone  and  brick  covered  with 
red  tiles,  tne  latter  of  native  manufacture.  The  houses 
extend  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain  to  the  shore. 
Part  of  the  town  lies  in  the  gorge  between  two  hills,  and 
seen  from  the  water  the  effect  is  very  pleasing.  Away 
to  the  left  of  the  village  as  you  enter  the  harbor  from 
Panama  is  an  extensive  sanitarium,  erected  by  the  Pan- 
ama Universal  Interoceanic  Canal  Company,  which  has 
cost  over  four  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  canal 
officers  and  a  few  canal  men  are  sent  there  to  repair 
their  wasted  strength.  The  village  of  Restingue  always 
had  a  charm  for  me,  for  it  is  essentially  a  native  village 
and  there  one  can  study  ranchos  to  his  heart's  content. 
There  are  Juans  and  Marias  by  the  hundred.  It  has  a 
very  pretty  grove  that  Tomes  in  his  book  *  calls  the 
"tamarind  walk."  This  is  a  magnificent  lot  of  tamarind 
trees,  which  are  large  and  afford  abundant  shelter. 
Their  foliage  is  very  pretty  to  the  eye,  and  the  fruit 
hangs  down  first  in  green-colored  pods  and  then  in  choc- 
olate-colored suits.  Their  peculiar  leaves  and  fruit 
attract  all  new-comers.     Two  sides  of  the  square   are 

*  "  Panama  in  1885 ;"  New  York. 


70  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

closed  in  by  native  ranches.  Of  the  two  others,  one  is 
the  sea  front,  and  the  other  that  towards  Toboga  proper. 
The  hfe  of  its  inhabitants  is  simple,  and  is  seemingly 
a  very  happy  and  contented  one.  Their  wants  are  few 
and  nature  seems  to  supply  them  all.  The  island  is 
famous  for  its  magnificent  pineapples;  and  it  is  w^ell 
worth  a  trip  to  the  Isthmus  to  enjoy  that  luscious  fruit 
matured  on  its  stalk.  There  are  bananas  and  plantains, 
and  other  fruits  whose  names  would  not  be  familiar  to 
my  readers.  The  waters  abound  in  fish  and  turtles  and 
small  oysters.  Back  of  Restingue,  in  a  gorge,  there  is  an 
eternal  spring  of  pure  cold  water,  which  furnishes  both 
of  these  villages  with  water,  and  all  tlie  shipping  making 
the  harbor  of  Panama  are  supplied  from  it.  *  The  na- 
tives have  their  canoes.  They  are  large  and  small,  and 
are  used  for  fishing  or  visiting  the  adjoining  islands  and 
the  mainland.  In  that  part  of  South  America  are  many 
huge  trees  and  from  them  in  the  olden  times  the  natives 
built  their  famous  war  canoes ;  canoes  of  ten  and  twelve 
tons,  carrying  crews  of  fifty,  eighty,  and  at  times  one 
hiuidred  men.  Toboga  is  a  charming  place  to  visit,  and 
it  has  much  that  was  always  interesting  to  me.  The 
island  is  bathed  in  perpetual  sunshine,  clad  in  eternal 
green,  and  it  certainly  is  one  of  nature's  beautiful  spots. 
The  children  of  the  inhabitants  bask  in  the  sunshine, 
play  in  the  sands,  feed  upon  the  native  fruits,  and  wear 
as  little  or  as  much  clothing  as  pleases  their  parents. 
The  great  events  in  their  lives  are  bull-teasings  and  cock 
fights  and  the  religious  festivals  of  the  church.  "A 
i5tory  is  told  of  the  land  crabs  of  Toboga  who  about  the 
latter  part  of  Lent  are  observed  descending  the  hills  in 
great  numbers.  They  even  climb  over  the  huts  that 
may  be  in  their  way  and  join  the  religious  procession  on 
Good  Friday."  t 

The  quotation  above  reads  very  well,  and  is  pat  to  my 
purpose,  but  the  visits  of  the  land  crabs  to  the  shore  in 
countless  numbers  is  not  due  to  any  religious  instinct, 

*  "South  Pacific  Pilot,"  Imrie,  London. 

t  "Antiquities  aud  Ethnology  of  South  America,"  London,  1860. 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.        .  71 

for  they  simply  go  down  there  once  a  year  in  armies  to 
deposit  their  eggs  by  the  seashore,  after  which  they 
again  retire  to  the  hills.  In  a  country  like  that,  where 
superstition  is  the  essential  ingredient  in  the  religion  of 
the  people,  the  little  fiction  of  their  going  dow»  to  join 
the  religious  in  their  procession  on  Good  Friday  is  pleas- 
ing to  them,  and  certainly  instructive  to  us,  as  showing 
the  backward  condition  of  that  part  of  Colombia. 

The  favorite  article  of  food  down  there  is  the  iguana. 
The  iguana  is  a  species  of  land  lizard,  and  varies  in 
length  from  eighteen  inches  to  three  feet.  Most  uncanny 
looking  objects  they  are.  These  animals  are  very  fond  of 
sleeping  in  the  sunshine,  and  while  in  that  condition  are 
caught  by  the  natives  in  great  numbers  and  sold.  The 
females  are  considered  a  delicacy,  and  there  is  a  barbar- 
ous custom  in  connection  with  their  treatment  which  I 
will  mention  here.  The  native  women  make  a  slit  in 
their  sides  and  drag  from  them  long  strings  of  eggs. 
The  eggs  when  fresh  are  about  the  size  of  damson  plums. 
They  are  said  to  be  highly  nutritious,  and  are  hung  up  in 
the  sun  and  dried.  They  are  kept  in  that  condition  or  sent 
to  the  market  for  sale.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  these 
iguanas  after  this  Colombian  Caesarian  section  do  not 
die.  They  are  kept  in  the  ranches  one,  two  or  three 
days,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  finally  are  used  as  food. 
The  flesh  of  this  animal  is  pure  white,  and  it  is  said  to 
taste  like  chicken,  but  all  my  instincts  forbade  my  intro- 
ducing such  an  awful  looking  object  to  my  Canadian 
stomach,  and  I  was  quite  willing  to  take  their  word  for 
it. 

There,  as  elsewhere,  the  Indians  and  their  descend- 
ants make  a  fermented  drink.  It  is  that  already 
described.  Sometimes  a  better  quality  is  made  from 
the  fermented  juice  of  the  pineapple.  The  latter  is 
somewhat  of  a  luxury.  Both  are  called  chicha.  The 
village  of  Toboga  and  that  of  Eestingue  are  connected 
by  a  pathway.  On  the  upper  parts  of  the  island  of 
Toboga  are  many  small  clearings  for  bananas,  plantains, 
pineapples,  yams,  and  yuccas.  The  latter  are  used  instead 
of  potatoes.    Directly  back  of  Toboga  on  the  opposite 


72  FI VE  YEA ES  AT  PA NAMA . 

side  of  the  island  there  is  a  cave  which  can  be  visited  at 
low  water  only.  It  is  said  that  it  extends  well  under 
the  island  but  I  never  met  anyone  who  had  explored  it. 
Of  course,  like  all  unknown  things,  a  great  deal  of 
mystery  surrounds  it,  and  it  is  said  that  much  treasure 
was  hidden  there  by  the  priests  after  their  flight  from 
old  Panama,  and  also  by  the  buccaneers.  I  have  strong 
doubts  about  this  statement,  because  the  fiery  Welsh- 
man, Henry  Morgan,  took  away  all  the  treasure  he  could 
get;  and,  as  far  as  the  early  clergy  were  concerned,  they 
certainly  wore  not  noted  for  neglecting  treasure  on 
earth,  whatever  they  thought  about  treasure  in  heaven. 
In  the  vicinity  of  this  cavern  is  a  cliff.  The  great 
earthquake  of  September  7,  1882,  shook  a  part  of  it  into 
the  sea. 

Facing  the  village  of  Restingue  is  a  small  island  called 
El  Moro.  At  low  water  it  is  connected  with  Toboga  by 
a  sand  bar,  for  it  is  a  Siamese  twin  of  the  insular  variety. 
At  high  water  both  are  islands.  El  Moi'O  is  a  mound- 
like island,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long  and  broad, 
and  some  300  feet  high.  On  its  face  towards  Res- 
tingue are  the  old  workshops  and  dwellings  put  up 
by  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company.  In  '49  and 
'50  Toboga  was  the  port  of  Panama.  At  times,  as 
many  as  700  skilled  workmen  were  employed  on 
the  island  who  were  almost  without  exception  Scotch- 
men. These  men  were  recruited  from  time  to  time. 
Finally  the  company  had  to  abandon  El  Moro  and  trans- 
fer their  men  and  Avorkshops  to  the  port  of  Callao  in 
Peru,  as  their  workmen  were  swept  away  on  El  Moro 
by  malaria,  pernicious  and  yellow  fevers.  The  trans- 
fer cost  the  company  an  enormous  amount  of  money, 
but  to  save  the  men  they  had  to  make  it.  The  climate 
to-day  is  the  same  as  it  was  when  Paterson,  the  founder 
of  the  Bank  of  England,  planted  his  colony  about  two 
hundred  years  ago  on  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  He 
called  his  city  the  new  Edinburgh,  and  he  considered  the 
Isthmus  the  "  Key  to  the  Universe."  Macaulay  tells  us 
how  a  band  of  some  eighteen  hundred  sturdy  Scotch- 
men, inside  of  fifteen  months  were  reduced  to  three  or 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  73 

four  hundred,  and  then  the  climate  and  their  enemies 
forced  them  to  leave  ;  and  it  is  related  that  when  they 
embarked  they  were  too  weak  to  hoist  the  sails  of  their 
vessels  and  that  the  Spaniards,  who  were  largely  inter- 
ested in  their  expulsion,  assisted  them.* 

In  proof  of  my  assertion,  that  the  climate  is  per- 
nicious and  death-dealing,  I  can  refer  the  curious  to  the 
hospital  on  the  crest  of  El  Moro  and  the  well  filled  cem- 
etery just  beyond  it.  On  the  southeast  shore  of  the 
island  are  several  old  time  cannon.  It  is  said  that  they 
were  abandoned  by  Morgan.  I  never  could  satisfy 
myself  that  there  was  any  good  ground  for  this  state- 
ment. 

Toboga  and  El  Moro  are  famous  for  picnics.  Small 
parties  used  to  be  made  up  in  Panama  to  spend  the  day 
there,  taking  all  their  refreshments  with  them  including 
an  abundant  supply  of  ice.  If  a  dance  was  in  order  na- 
tive musicians  were  secured  on  the  island  with  violins  and 
a  guitar.  The  twanging  of  the  latter  is  considered  abso- 
lutely essential  in  giving  the  time.  Pleasanter  picnic 
grounds  cannot  be  found.  After  a  delightful  day  there 
the  party  would  return  to  Panama  in  the  evening.  Many 
of  my  pleasantest  reminiscences  of  Panama  and  of  friends 
there  are  associated  with  these  two  islands.  A  picnic  to 
be  a  success  must  be  made  up  of  the  right  people ;  there  is 
as  much  a  natural  selection  in  these  matters  as  in  other 
things,  and  I  may  say  that  the  picnics  that  I  allude 
to  were  successes. 

About  forty  miles  down  the  gulf  are  the  famous 
Pearl  Islands,  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made  in  connection  with  the  churches  of  Panama.  They 
were  known  to  the  early  Spaniards  as  the  Archipelago 
del  Rey,  or  the  King's  Archipelago.  Twice  I  have  ar- 
ranged to  visit  them  and  each  time  my  plans  were  up- 
set, so  that  it  has  never  been  my  good  fortune  to  put 
foot  upon  them.  I  have  seen  them  in  the  distance. 
The  main  island  is  called  San  Miguel  (St.   Michael),  its 


*  Macaulay's  '"  History  of  England."    See  also  "  Encyclopaedia  Bri- 
tannica,"  Ed.  of  1885. 


74  ^IVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

village  bearing  the  same  name.  The  latter  was  de- 
scribed to  me  bj^  my  friend  Mr.  Ospino,  as  consisting  of 
ranches,  a  few  stone  houses  and  a  well  built  stone 
church,  the  towers  of  which  are  covered  with  pearl 
shells.  Prior  to  the  advent  of  the  Spanish  discoverers 
the  Indians  living  on  these  islands  had  been  pearl 
fishers.  When  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  visited  the  Pa- 
cific side  of  the  Isthmus  he  went  to  the  Pearl  Island 
gi'oup,  as  he  had  heard  of  their  wealth.  While  there 
he  was  presented  with  pearls  whose  blackened  appear- 
ance astonished  him.  The  simple  savages  instead  of 
allowing  the  oyster  to  die  a  natural  death,  put  them 
in  the  fire  and  then  looked  for  the  pearls.* 

One  of  the  islands  of  the  group  is  Pedro  Gonzalez. 
The  Central  South  American  Telegraph  Company  have 
a  cable  station  on  it.  The  island  is  noted  for  its  pita 
grass,  an  exceedingly  delicate  and  strong  fibi-e  that 
is  used  for  making  the  finest  Panama  hats.  It  is  so  fine 
and  so  strong  that  it  can  be  used  for  all  the  purposes  of 
thread,  and  I  have  used  it  for  surgical  sutures.  A  great 
deal  of  this  pita  fibre  is  being  exported,  and  it  is  used 
for  adulterating  silk.  Speaking  of  Panama  hats,  the 
famous  hats  of  this  name  that  are  worn  all  over  the 
world  are  not  made  at  Panama.  They  are  made 
largely  in  Ecuador  and  Peru,  but  in  some  incomprehen- 
sible way  they  are  known  to  the  world  as  Panama  hats. 
Some  of  the  finest  of  them  take  an  industrious  native 
two  to  three  months  to  make. 

The  pearl  fisheries  of  the  Gulf  of  Panama  have  been 
historic  for  centuries.  Pearls  have  been  found  there 
as  large  as  marbles,  and  one  native  dealer  has  been 
known  to  own  as  much  as  $100,000  worth.  The  fisheries 
there,  at  one  time  of  inestimable  value,  were  destroyed  by 
the  reckless  methods  employed.  Men  in  diving  armor 
ruined  them  by  taking  up  too  many  oysters,  and  for 
many  years  no  fishing  was  allowed.  The  old  native 
method  of  fishing  was  an  exceedingly  simple  one.     The 

*  "Voyages  of  Spanish  Discovery,"  Washington  Irving.  "Panama 
in  1885." 


FIVi:  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  'J'5 

fishers  were  all  in  the  employ  of  natives  residing  on  the 
island.  These  native  merchants  advanced  them  stores, 
got  the  men  in  their  debt,  and  kept  them  there,  when 
they  were  little  better  than  slaves.  This  policy  obtains 
to  this  very  day  in  the  Mexican  pearl  fisheries.  The 
natives  go  off  in  their  canoes,  and  the  divers  go  down, 
taking  with  them  a  rough  species  of  basket.  They 
selected  the  large  flat  oysters  that  they  deemed  were 
best.  It  is  said  that  some  of  them  could  remain  below 
from  a  minute  to  two  minutes.  The  stories  that  one 
hears  of  divers  remaining  below  ten  and  fifteen  minutes 
are  absolutely  without  foundation.  Their  great  enemies 
were  the  sharks,  and  many  and  terrific  were  the  fights 
they  had  with  these  monsters.  Generally  the  native  was 
victorious,  for,  owing  to  his  amphibious  habits,  he  could 
swim  under  his  enemy  and  rip  open  his  belly.  The 
divers  returned  to  the  surface,  rested  in  their  canoes  for 
a  time  and  then  went  to  the  bottom  once  more.  The 
oysters  were  taken  on  shore,  placed  in  piles  and  allowed 
to  die.  Just  as  soon  as  their  shells  opened  they  were 
searched  for  pearls.  I  have  seen  many  and  beautiful 
pearls  from  the  island.  One  of  the  prettiest  that  I  can  re- 
call was  a  perfect  sphere,  the  size  of  a  pea,  with  that  deli- 
cate rose  tint  in  certain  lights  that  so  enhances  the  value. 
I  became  the  possessor  of  this  pearl  and  sent  it  as  a 
requerdo  to  a  member  of  my  family. 

I  do  not  think  it  is  generally  known  that  pearls  really 
are  the  result  of  disease.  The  starting  point  of  a  pearl  is 
generally  a  grain  of  sand  that  gets  within  the  shell. 
The  animal  is  unable  to  expel  it,  it  becomes  an  irritant 
and  sets  up  a  species  of  inflammation,  as  the  result  of 
which  it  becomes  covered,  layer  by  layer  with  the  lining 
or  pearl  of  the  shell.  Some  writers  have  compared 
pearls  to  tears.  They  are  not  natural  products,  but  may 
be  considered  pathological.  The  life  and  history  of  these 
pearl  oysters  and  their  contents  has  been  told  in  a  de- 
lightful and  instructive  way  in  a  leaflet  issued  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Lockwood,  of  Freehold,  New  Jersey  ; 
and  a  most  interesting  leaflet  it  is. 

While  on  the  subject  of  pearl  fishing  I  wish  to  recall 


76  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PAJSTAMA. 

the  fate  of  an  expedition  fitted  out  in  this  city  (New 
York)  to  visit  the  same  islands.  The  party  went  to  the 
Isthmus,  taking  with  them  a  small  steamer  in  sections, 
which  was  put  together  on  the  Panama  side  of  the 
Isthmus.  It  was  in  the  year  1858,  while  there  was  an 
epidemic  on  the  Isthmus.  The  sailors,  engineers  and 
officers  contracted  the  disease.  That  expedition  never 
left  the  shores  of  Panama,  for  all  died  except  one,  who 
returned  to  this  city. 

On  those  islands  many  archaeological  curios  have 
been  found.  Personally  I  have  never  seen  any  of  them, 
but  Mr.  J.  A.  McNeil,  an  American  archaeologist  resid- 
ing in  David,  Chiriqui,  has  seen  and  examined  many 
curios  from  there,  such  as  pottery,  stone  hatchets  and 
gold  ornaments.  As  all  know  who  are  familiar  with  the 
history  of  Mexico  and  Central  America  and  that  end  of 
South  America,  the  early  Spanish  discoverers  found  very 
ingenious  Indians  all  through  the  country,  and  Colum- 
bus *  in  coasting  along  from  Navy  Bay  to  Porto  Bello, 
thence  to  the  coast  of  Mexico,  found  some  of  those  old 
ruins  that  have  been  described  at  length  by  Stephens  in 
his  admirable  work  on  Mexican  Exploration.  Squier  t  in 
his  work  throws  a  vast  volume  of  light  on  the  early 
history  of  the  country  and  the  remarkable  idols  on  the 
island  of  Ometepe  in  Lake  Nicaragua.  At  the  southern 
end  of  the  lake  it  is  said  that  some  of  those  prehistoric 
ruins  still  exist.  Many  suppose  that  these  Indians  were 
offshoots  from  their  better  educated  brethren  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America.  I  say  "better  educated."  The 
early  Spaniards  who  invaded  what  to-day  is  Guatemala, 
from  Mexico,  found  a  species  of  civilization  among  the 
native  tribes  that  was  astonishing.  In  the  highlands, 
back  of  Retalhelen  there  was  a  fortified  camp  well  con- 
structed of  stone  in  which  there  were  upwards  of  two 
thousand  military  students,  or  students  who  were  study- 
ing tactics  of  those  days.J 

*  "  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus." 

t  "  Squier's  Nicaragua."     New  York. 

t  "  Historia  de  Centro  America. "    Guatemala. 


Flag-staff,  Consulate  General,  U.  S.  A.,  Panama. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PANAMA,  VIE  JO  OB  OLD  PANAMA — SITE — GLIMPSE  OF  PAST 
HISTORY  —  DESTRUCTION  BY  MORGAN  —  RUINS  —  CATHE- 
DRAL OF    ST.    ANASTASIUS — PRESENT    CONDITION. 

Old  Panama,  or  Panama  Viejo,  is  a  most  interesting 
spot  to  any  one  who  has  unearthed  some  of  the  early 
history  of  the  Spanish  discoverers.  The  ruins  of  the 
old  city  lie  some  four  and  a  half  miles  southeast  of 
modern  Panama.  The  only  landmark  seen  by  ship- 
masters making  the  harbor  is  the  old  tower  of  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Anastasius. 

The  old  city  is  difficult  to  reach.  To  go  there  on 
horseback  during  the  dry  season,  means  a  long  ride 
from  Panama  by  way  of  the  savanna,  thence  through  a 
very  dense  forest,  amid  tropical  jungle.  During  a  ride 
of  that  kind,  in  the  dry  season,  one  will  probably  be 
cover  by  garrapatas,  or  wood-ticks,  and  they  are  not 
pleasant.  The  best  way  of  getting  there  is  by  water. 
Such  trips  have  to  be  nicely  timed,  owing  to  the  great 
rise  and  fall  of  the  tides,  and  no  one  should  attempt  it 
unless  he  has  skilled  boatmen.  Huge  rollers  form  all 
along  the  upper  horn  of  the  gulf  and  are  very  dangerous. 
My  first  visit  with  my  family  nearly  resulted  in  our 
being  drowned.  The  boatman  who  undertook  to  take  us 
there,  claimed  that  he  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the 
locality  and  of  a  safe  way  of  approaching  it.  As  we 
were  reaching  the  shores  the  crest  of  a  huge  roller  par- 
tially filled  our  boat.  Had  we  been  swamped,  the 
undertow,  which  at  that  point  is  very  strong,  would 
have  carried  us  out  to  sea.  Since  then  I  have  visited 
the  spot,  and  the  only  boatman  that  I  know  of,  that  I 
would  trust  myself  with  is  Marel,  who  lives  at  the 
Taller.     He  is  a  waterman  of  the  first  order,  and  with 

77 


78  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

him  I  never  felt  any  anxiety,  nor  have  I  suffered  the 
slightest  mishap.  Landing  opposite  the  ruins  is  out  of 
the  question,  owing  to  the  sand  and  a  very  deep  deposit 
of  soft  clay.  Generally  Marel  entered  one  of  the  minor 
bays  at  some  point  between  Puenta  Paitillia  and  old 
Panama.  Ho  so  arranged  matters  that  we  arrived 
there  almost  at  high  water,  and  we  went  out  on  the  next 
tide.  Between  tides  our  boat  was  high  and  dry,  and 
fully  half  a  mile  from  the  sea.  After  landing  one 
wanders  along  a  stretch  of  beach  backed  by  dense  trop- 
ical jungle,  volcanic  cliffs,  and  much  that  interests  one 
who  cares  for  things  of  that  sort.  An  arm  of  the  sea 
crosses  the  sands  and  passes  under  an  old  bridge  into  an 
interior  lagoon.  That  old  stone  bridge  possessed  a  won- 
derful interest  for  me.  It  was  built  some  three  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago,  and  to  this  very  day,  despite  cli- 
mate and  earthquakes,  it  is  in  excellent  order.  At 
water  level,  where  the  faces  of  the  stone  are  alternately 
wetted  and  sunned  between  tides,  they  have  been  worn 
away  some  three  or  four  inches.  Despite  the  latter,  the 
bridge  is  strong  and  perfect ;  its  arch  is  an  exceedingly 
pretty  one,  and  looking  at  it  from  the  sands,  it  makes  a 
beautiful  picture,  with  the  dense  virgin  forest  and  the 
water  that  one  sees  under  and  beyond  it. 

On  one  occasion  while  on  a  small  picnic  party,  we  had 
our  early  coffee  on  that  bridge,  under  a  huge  tree  that 
liad  grown  on  the  arch.  During  my  last  visit  to  old 
Panama.  I  found  that  that  stalwart  guardian  had  been 
uprooted  and  blown  into  the  lagoon. 

The  bridge  and  the  remains  of  the  porter's  residence 
beyond  it  Avere  wonderfully  suggestive  to  me.  It  con- 
nected old  Panama  on  the  Pacific  with  Porto  BeUo,  or 
Beautiful  Harbor  on  the  Atlantic.  The  latter  was  so 
named  by  Columbus  in  person.*  The  early  Spaniards 
built  a  paved  way  from  Porto  Bello  across  the  mountains 
to  the  Panama  side.  There  it  connected  with  the  main 
road,  crossing  a  part  of  the  savanna,  and  by  way  of  the 
bridge,  with  Panama  Viejo.     Then  Spain  was  at  the 

*  •■  Life  and  Voyages  of  Colnmbus."' 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  79 

very  zenith  of  her  fame  and  wealth,  and  in  Old  Panama 
the  splendor  of  the  mother  country  was  reproduced. 
With  the  pearls  of  the  islands,  the  gold  from  Darien 
and  the  coast  of  Central  America,  and  the  silver  of 
Mexico  and  Peru  it  was  rich  to  a  degree.  It  was  a  life  of 
luxury,  of  Spanish  pleasure  and  dash,  almost  Asiatic  in 
character.  The  Vice-Eegal  Court  was  grand  and  impos- 
ing ;  proud  and  brave  noblemen  surrounded  the  Viceroy, 
who  was  kingly,  both  in  power  and  surroundings. 
People  those  highways  with  richly  dressed  noblemen 
attending  Spanish  women,  whose  beauty  is  historic, 
mounted  on  their  Andalusian  chargers,  and  attended  by 
a  suite  of  followers.  The  very  atmosphere  down  there 
seemed  to  teem  with  the  music  of  old  time  bells.  Re- 
member Spain  and  the  church  went  hand  in  hand, — to  be 
strictly  accurate,  the  Church  led  and  Spain  followed. 
To-day  not  a  house  remains  intact.  That  city,  then 
considered  the  Key  to  the  Pacific  and  the  Gate  to  the 
Universe,  is  silent  and  overgrown  by  a  dense  tropical 
forest,  over  two  hundred  years  old. 

I  have  used  the  term  ''Asiatic  luxury,"  translating 
literally  from  the  Spanish — hijo  Asiafico.  As  some  of 
my  readers  may  not  be  thoroughly  versed  in  that  most 
romantic  and  daring  age,  it  may  be  well  to  recall  the 
fact  that  the  brilliant  discoveries  of  Columbus  and  his 
daring  followers  came  close  on  the  expulsion  of  the 
Moors  from  Spain.  The  latter  had  overrun  that  country 
for  nearly  eight  hundred  years,  and  they  have  left  some 
of  the  grandest  of  architectural  monuments :  not  only  in 
Spain,  but  in  Portugal  as  well.  The  true  Asiatic  luxury 
was  that  introduced  by  the  Moors.  Anyone  who  has 
had  the  privilege  of  visiting  Spain  abd  seeing  some  of 
those  wonderful  creations  of  the  Moors,  such  as  the 
Alcazar  of  Seville,  will  not  question  my  statement  as  to 
Asiatic  luxury.  The  Moors  were  a  people  who  grafted 
on  Spain  luxurious  habits  and  their  own  pomp.  Follow- 
ing their  expulsion,  hundreds  and  thousands  of  warriors 
who  had  been  trained  to  arms  were  idle,  and  they  gladly 
embarked  in  the  vessels  of  the  discoverer  to  seek  fame 
and  wealth  beyond  the  "dark  sea,"  as  the  early  histo- 


80  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

rians  termed  the  Atlantic.  I  liave  referred  to  the  discov- 
ery of  the  Pacific  on  the  morning  of  the  2Gth  of 
September,  1513,  by  Vasco  Nuiiez  de  Balboa,  who  saw  it 
from  the  top  of  El  Cerro  Gigante,  midway  between 
Panama  and  Colon.  Following  this  discovery,  new  and 
vast  fields  were  opened  to  these  ambitious,  daring 
adventurers.  In  time  Old  Panama  was  built  and  there 
was  a  luxuriance  and  an  ostentation  about  it  that  to-day 
I  presume  is  unknown, — certainly  within  the  domain  of 
civilization.  So  much  by  way  of  explanation.  The  his- 
tory of  that  wonderful  old  city  reads  to  me  like  one  of 
Jules  Verne's  stories,  save  that  the  ruins  are  there,  and 
we  have  history  for  it  instead  of  fiction.  Many  of  the 
houses  were  of  stone,  and  some  of  their  foundations  can 
be  traced  to  this  day,  and  in  some  places  their  side  walls; 
but  the  majority  were  of  native  cedar,  a  densely  hard, 
aromatic  wood.  Among  thousands  of  other  buildings 
there  were  churches,  and  no  less  than  eight  monasteries 
and  a  magnificent  hospital.  The  churches  and  monas- 
teries were  wealthy  to  a  degree;  it  was  always  the 
church  first  and  Spain  afterwards.  Their  fittings,  altar 
cloths,  jewel  services,  and  altar  paraphernalia  were 
mines  of  wealth;  so  much  so  that  the  fame  thereof 
spread  over  the  world.  In  time  this  very  luxury  led  to 
the  destruction  of  the  city  by  the  buccaneers.  In  the 
city  there  were  over  two  thousand  houses  of  stately 
appearance  inhabited  by  the  king's  oflicers  and  the 
wealthy  class.  It  is  said  that  there  were  five  thousand 
of  more  modest  pretention,  occupied  by  small  tradesmen 
and  the  lower  classes.  There  were  buildings  allotted  to 
the  keeping  of  the  king's  horses, — horses  that  were  kept 
purposely  to  convey  the  king's  treasure  over  the  paved 
way  to  Porto  Bello  on  the  Atlantic,  or  the  North  Sea,  as 
they  then  termed  it,  there  to  deposit  it  ere  it  was  con- 
veyed to  the  mother  country  in  the  king's  vessels.  The 
houses  of  the  better  class  were  filled  with  silken  hang- 
ings, paintings  and  all  that  luxury  and  a  fastidious  taste 
could  desire. 

The  beautiful  savanna,  that  I  have  briefly  alluded  to 
in  the  past,  then  consisted  of  fertile  fields  and  magnifi- 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAaMA.  81 

cent  drives.  The  life  was  a  dreamy  one  of  sensuous 
luxury  for  the  upper  class.  Everything  they  touched 
seemed  to  turn  into  gold.  The  unfortunate  natives  of 
the  country  were  their  slaves.  The  islands  in  the  gulf 
yielded  magnificent  pearls,  the  mines  of  Darien  gave 
untold  wealth.  While  sitting  there  amid  the  old  ruins 
in  the  heart  of  a  dense  forest,  it  almost  seemed  unreal 
that  the  place  was  the  site  of  so  much  past  grandeur  and 
past  luxury.  Nature  with  her  own  lavish  hand  has  done 
her  best  to  bury  the  ruins  in  a  luxurious  growth ;  even 
the  very  walls  of  the  few  remaining  buildings  are  clad 
with  tropical  creepers,  and  from  their  upper  portion 
there  is  a  dense  growth  of  small  trees.  These  lines  of 
pure  green,  in  what  seems  nothing  but  a  mass  of  forest, 
produce  a  very  strange  effect.  I  have  wandered  about 
on  the  site  of  that  old  city,  following  a  machetero  or  a 
native  with  a  machete.  He  preceded  me  to  cut  a  trail. 
In  the  forest  there  is  a  wealth  of  tropical  vegetation  and 
flowers,  with  but  an  occasional  glimpse  of  sunlight,  so 
dense  is  the  foliage.  All  is  quiet  save  when  broken  by 
the  blows  of  the  machetero  or  the  singing  of  innumerable 
tropical  birds.  In  wandering  about  through  the  forest, 
one  has  to  be  exceedingly  careful,  owing  to  the  number 
of  old  wells  which  supplied  the  inhabitants  with  their 
water.  Many  of  these  are  in  excellent  order.  They  are 
just  on  a  level  with  the  surrounding  ground,  are  of 
great  depth,  and  contain  an  abundance  of  water.  It 
was  customary  to  sink  a  well  between  walls,  enabling 
people  in  two  houses  to  supply  themselves  from  the'  same 
source.  The  ruins  of  the  old  Cathedral  of  St.  Anastasius 
are  those  that  afford  one  the  most  satisfaction,  as 
they  are  still  in  good  condition.  There  it  was  on  the 
altar  of  the  Virgin,  that  bold  and  indefatigable  discov- 
erer, Pizarro,  deposited  his  votive  offering  before  sailing 
to  the  south,  where  he  discovered  Peru.  He  found  a 
people  whose  history  was  classic.  The  Peruvians,  whose 
monuments  are  familiar  to  all  readers  of  history,  were  a 
people  who  upwards  of  one  thousand  years  ago  con- 
structed a  road  from  what  is  to-day  Santa  Fe  de  Bogota, 
to  the  country  of  the  first  Incas.  This  road  was  a  marvel 
6 


82  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

of  engineering.  For  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  miles 
it  was  constructed  through  ravines,  across  mountain 
gorges,  and  even  around  the  faces  of  chffs.  Within  the 
walls  of  the  old  cathedral  there  is  a  growth  of  timber, 
for  it  is  over  two  centuries  since  Old  Panama  was  laid 
waste. 

Once  while  making  a  diligent  search  in  the  forests,  I 
found  the  walls  of  an  old  ecclesiastical  building,  and, 
over  an  archway,  a  huge  coat-of-arms.  It  had  been 
almost  obliterated  by  time.  The  difficulty  of  getting 
about  there  is  great,  and  the  danger  from  poisonous 
snakes  is  serious.  There  is  no  spot  that  has  furnished 
me  with  so  much  agreeable  food  for  thought  and  specu- 
lation as  Old  Panama.  It  is  impossible  to  read  the  early 
history  of  the  Spaniards  without  feeling  a  warm  glow 
creeping  over  one — an  intense  admiration  for  the  men 
who  fought  against  climate,  savages,  and  disease. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  pay  four  visits  to  Old 
Panama.  Its  sole  sentinel  is  the  tower  of  St.  Anastasius. 
There  is  much  of  the  history  of  that  time  that  seems  to 
be  comparatively  unknown,  even  to  well  informed  peo- 
ple, and  yet  reading  it  gives  one  profound  pleasure. 

Henry  Morgan's  history  reads  like  a  novel.  "Brave 
and  daring  *  *  *  of  a  sordid  and  brutal 
character,  selfish  and  cunning,  and  without  any  spark 
of  the  reckless  generosity  which  sometimes  graced  the 
freebooter  and  contrasted  with  his  crimes.  He  was  a 
native  of  Wales,  and  the  son  of  a  respectable  yeoman. 
Early  inclination  led  him  to  the  sea ;  and  embarking  for 
Barbadoes,  by  a  fate  common  to  all  unprotected  adven- 
turers, he  was  sold  for  a  term  of  years.  After  effecting 
his  escape,  or  emancipation,  Morgan  joined  the  bucca- 
neei-s,  and  in  a  short  time  saved  a  little  money,  with 
which,  in  concert  with  a  few  comrades,  he  equipped  a 
bark,  of  Avhich  he  was  chosen  commander."  *        *        * 

Such  was  the  start  made  by  the  new  leader  of  the 
buccaneers.  After  endless  adventures  he  organized  an 
expedition  for  an  attack  on  Porto  Bello,  or  the  Atlantic 

*  Lives  and  Voyages  of  Drake,  Cavendish  ct  al.,  New  York. 


FIVE  VEABS  AT  PANAMA.  83 

port  of  Panama.  "With  nine  ships  and  boats,  and 
460  of  his  countrymen,  he  resolved  to  assault  Porto 
Bello."*  This  expedition  exhibits  the  hai'dy  daring 
of  this  man,  for  Porto  Bello  was  a  stronghold  of 
the  first  order.  "To  those  who  then  objected  that 
their  force  was  inadequate  to  the  attack,  Morgan 
boldly  replied  that  though  their  numbei'S  were  small, 
their  hearts  were  good :  and  the  fewer  the  warriors  the 
larger  the  shares  of  plunder.  This  was  an  irresistible 
argument ;  and  this  strongly  fortified  city  was  carried 
by  a  handful  of  resolute  men,  who  never  scrupled  at 
cruelty  needful  to  the  accomplishment  of  their  object, 
and  often  revelled  in  the  wantonness  of  unnecessary 
crime."  * 

The  Spaniards  fought  bravely  against  the  English 
pirates.  The  wealthy  inhabitants  sought  safety  with 
their  valuables  and  treasure  within  the  forts.  One 
strong  fort  had  been  reduced,  *for  Morgan  had  compelled 
his  prisoners  to  place  scaling  ladders  on  the  walls. 
Priests  and  nuns  were  forced  to  do  the  work,  Morgan 
believing  that  the  Spaniards  would  spare  them  and  that 
under  such  cover  his  men  could  advance.  ' '  In  these 
trying  circumstances,  forgetting  the  claims  of  country, 
and  the  sacred  character  of  the  innocent  persons  exposed 
to  suffering  so  unmerited,  the  Spanish  Governor  con- 
svilted  only  his  official  duty;  and  while  the  unhappy 
prisoners  of  the  buccaneers  implored  his  mercy,  contin- 
ued to  pour  shot  upon  all  who  approached  the  walls, 
whether  pirates  or  the  late  peaceful  inhabitants  of  the 
cloisters,  his  stern  answer  being  that  he  would  never 
surrender  alive.  Many  of  the  friars  and  nuns  were 
killed  before  the  scaling  ladders  could  be  fixed ;  but  that 
done,  the  buccaneers,  carrying  with  them  fireballs  and 
pots  full  of  gunpowder,  boldly  mounted  the  walls,  poured 
in  their  combustibles,  and  speedily  efi'ected  an  entrance. 
All  the  Spaniards  demanded  quarter  except  the  Gov- 
ernor, who  died  fighting,  in  the  presence  of  his  wife  and 
daughter,   declaring  that  he  chose  rather  to  die  as  a 

*  Ibidem. 


84  FIVJ!:  YEAliS  AT  PANAMA. 

brave  soldier  than  be  hanged  like  a  coward.  The  next 
act  in  the  horrid  drama  of  buccaneering  conquest  fol- 
lowed rapidly,— pillage,  cruelty,  brutal  license,— the 
freebooters  giving  themselves  up  to  so  mad  a  course  of 
riot  and  debauchery  that  fifty  resolute  men  might  have 
cut  them  off  and  regained  the  town,  had  the  panic-struck 
Spaniards  been  able  to  form  any  rational  plan  of  action 
or  to  muster  a  force.  During  these  fifteen  days  of 
demoniac  revel,  interrupted  only  by  torturing  the  pris- 
oners to  make  them  give  up  treasures  which  they  did 
not  possess,  many  of  the  buccaneers  died  from  the  con- 
sequences of  their  own  brutal  excesses,  and  Morgan 
deemed  it  expedient  to  draw  off  his  force.  Information 
had  by  this  time  reached  the  Governor  of  Panama  and 
though  aid  was  distant  from  the  miserable  inhabitants 
of  Porto  Bello,  it  might  still  come.  Morgan,  therefore, 
carried  off  a  good  many  of  the  guns,  spiked  the  rest, 
fully  supplied  his  ships  with  every  necessary  store,  and 
having  already  plundered  all  that  was  possible,  inso- 
lently demanded  an  exorbitant  ransom  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  city  and  for  his  prisoners,  and  prepared  to 
depart  from  the  coast.  These  terms  he  even  sent  to  the 
Governor  of  Panama,  who  was  approaching  the  place, 
and  Avhose  force  the  buccaneers  intercepted  in  a  narrow 
pass,  and  compelled  to  retreat.  The  inhabitants  col- 
lected among  themselves  a  hundred  thousand  pieces  of 
eight,  which  Morgan  graciously  accepted,  and  retired  to 
his  ships. 

"  The  astonishment  of  the  Governor  of  Panama  at  so 
small  a  force  carrying  the  town  and  the  forts,  and  hold- 
ing them  so  long,  induced  him,  it  is  said,  to  send  a  mes- 
sage to  the  buccaneer  leader,  requesting  a  specimen  of 
the  arms  wliich  he  used.  Morgan  received  the  messen- 
ger with  civility,  gave  him  a  pistol  and  a  few  bullets, 
and  ordered  him  to  bid  the  governor  to  accept  of  so 
slender  a  pattern  of  the  weapons  with  which  he  had 
taken  Porto  Bello,  and  to  keep  it  for  a  twelvemonth,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  he  (Morgan)  proposed  to  come  to 
Panama  to  fetch  it  away.  The  Governor  returned  the 
loan  with  a  gold  ring,  and  requesting  Morgan  not  tO 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  85 

give  himself  the  trouble  of  traveUing  so  far,  certifying 
to  him  that  he  would  not  fare  so  well  as  he  had  done  at 
Porto  Bello." 

Following  this  exploit  Morgan  led  many  successful 
expeditions,  and  "early  in  October,  1670,  found  hunself 
surrounded  by  pirates,  hunters,  cultivators,  English, 
French  and  Dutch,  who,  from  land  and  sea,  the  planta- 
tion and  the  wilderness,  had  flocked  to  the  standard  of 
him  who  was  to  lead  them  to  fortune  and  victory.  The 
first  duty  was  to  victual  the  fleet,  and  this  was  done  by 
pillaging  the  hog-yards,  and  with  the  boucan  sent  in  by 
hunters  who  either  joined  in  the  expedition  or  traded 
with  the  pirates." 

The  word  buccaneer  is  derived  from  boucan,  the 
French  for  smoke.  The  men  who  cured  the  bacon  for 
the  pirates,  and  who  really  were  their  allies,  were  called 
' '  boucaniers. "  In  time  this  word  became  converted  into 
our  English  word  "buccaneer,"  and  later  it  gave  the 
name  to  the  whole  bloodthirsty  piratical  crew.  Mor- 
gan's success  in  organization  may  be  gathered  from  the 
fact,  that  at  that  time  he  had  thirty-seven  vessels,  fully 
provisioned,  under  his  command,  and  2,000  fighting  men, 
flushed  with  victory,  eager  for  plunder  and  the 
grossest  license.  Then  it  was  that  a  new  attack  on 
Porto  Bello  was  in  order,  and,  following  its  capitulation, 
it  was  to  be,  "On  to  Panama,"  to  redeem  his  promise 
and  recover  his  pistol.  The  remainder  is  best  told  in  the 
admirable  words  of  the  old  time  chronicler : 

' '  From  this  point  Morgan  detached  a  force  of  400  men, 
to  attack  the  castle  of  Chagre,  the  possession  of  which 
he  judged  necessary  to  the  success  of  his  future  opera- 
tions against  Panama.  It  was  eventually  carried  by  the 
accident  of  fire  communicating  with  the  powder  maga- 
zine, which  blew  up  part  of  the  defences.* 


*  The  manner  in  whicli  the  fire  was  said  to  be  commnuicated  is  not 
a  little  singular.  A  buccaneer  was  pierced  through  by  an  arrow  from 
the  fort.  He  drew  it  forth  from  liis  body,  wound  a  little  cotton  round 
it,  and  shot  it  from  his  musket  against  the  castle.  The  cotton  kindled 
by  the  powder,  set  fire  to  the  pahn-leaf  roofs  of  some  sheds  withiu  the 


86  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANA31A. 

"While  the  Spaniards  were  occupied  in  suppressing 
{he  conflagration,  the  buccaneers  labored  hard  to  increase 
the  confusion,  by  setting  fire  to  the  palisadoes  in  several 
places.  At  last  they  effected  a  breach,  in  defiance  of 
the  liquid  combustibles  which  the  Spaniards  poured 
down  among  them,  and  which  occasioned  considerable 
loss  of  their  numbers.  But  the  attack  and  resistance 
Avere  still  continued  throughout  the  whole  night,  the 
buccaneers  directing  an  incessant  fire  towards  the 
breaches,  which  the  Spanish  Governor  pertinaciously 
defended. 

"  By  noon  the  next  day,  the  buccaneers  had  gained  a 
breach,  which  was  defended  by  the  Governor  himself 
and  twenty-five  soldiers.  The  Spanish  soldiers  fought 
with  desperate  valor,  despair  lending  them  supernatural 
courage ;  but  nothing  could  resist  the  impetuosity  of  the 
pirates ;  they  burst  their  way  through  every  obstacle, 
and  the  unfortunate  Spaniards  who  survived,  preferring 
death  to  the  dishonor  of  either  falling  into  the  hands  of 
these  infuriated  ruffians  or  of  begging  quarter,  precipi- 
tated themselves  into  the  sea.  The  Governor  had  retired 
into  the  corps  du  garde,  before  which  he  planted  two 
pieces  of  cannon,  and  bravely  maintained  the  hopeless 
and  unequal  conflict  till  he  fell  by  a  musket  shot,  which 
entered  the  bi-ain.  Of  the  garrison  of  314  men,  only 
thirty  remained  alive,  and  of  these  few  twenty  were 
wounded.     Not  a  single  officer  escaped. 

"From  the  survivors  of  the  siege,  the  buccaneer  party 
learned  that  the  Governor  of  Panama  was  already 
apprised  of  their  design  against  that  place,  that  all  along 
the  course  of  the  Chagre,  ambuscades  were  laid,  and  that 
a  force  of  3,600  men  awaited  their  arrival.  But  this  did 
not  deter  Morgan,  who  pressed  forward  for  Chagre  the 
instant  that  he  received  intelligence  of  the  capture  of 


castle,  and  the  flame  cauglit  at  the  gunpowder,  which  produced  the 
breach  in  the  walls.  At  the  same  instant,  the  buccaneers  set  fire  to  the 
palisadoes;  the  Spaniards,  though  unwavering  in  courage,  and  ui;- 
daunted  in  resolution,  became  distracted  in  the  midst  of  so  many  dan- 
gers. 


FIVE  YEAES  at  PANA3fA.  87 

the  castle,  carrying  with  him  all  the  provisions  that 
could  be  obtained  in  Santa  Catalina,  to  which  island  he 
intended  to  return  after  the  capture  of  Panama. 

"The  English  colors  flying  upon  the  castle  of  Chagre, 
was  a  sight  of  joy  to  the  main  body  of  the  buccaneers 
upon  their  arrival.  Morgan  was  admitted  within  the 
fort  by  the  triumphant  advance  troop  with  all  the  honors 
of  conquest.  Before  his  arrival,  the  wounded,  the 
widows  of  the  soldiers  killed  in  the  siege,  and  the  other 
women  of  the  place,  had  been  shut  up  in  the  church,  and 
subjected  to  the  most  brutal  treatment.  To  their  fate 
Morgan  was  entirely  callous ;  but  he  lost  no  time  in  set- 
ting the  prisoners  to  work  in  repairing  the  defences  and 
forming  new  palisadoes;  he  also  seized  all  the  craft  in 
the  river,  many  of  which  carried  from  two  to  four  small 
pieces. 

"These  arrangements  concluded,  Morgan  left  a  garri- 
son of  500  men  in  his  castle  at  Chagre,  and  in  the  ships 
150;  while  at  the  head  of  1,200  buccaneers,  he,  on  the  18th 
of  January,  1671,  commenced  his  inland  journey  to  Pan- 
ama, indifferent  about  or  determined  to  brave  the 
Spanish  ambuscades.  His  artillery  was  carried  by4ive 
large  boats,  and  thirty-two  canoes  were  filled  with  part 
of  the  men.  Anxious  to  push  forward,  Morgan  com- 
mitted one  capital  blunder  in  carrying  almost  no  pro- 
visions, calculating  upon  a  shorter  period  being  consumed 
on  the  march  than  it  actually  required,  and  on  foraging 
upon  the  Spaniards.  Even  on  the  first  day  their  pro- 
visions failed,  and  on  the  second  they  were  compelled  to 
leave  the  canoes,  the  lowness  of  the  river  and  the  fallen 
trees  lying  across  it  making  this  mode  of  travelling 
tedious  and  nearly  impractical.  Their  progress  was  now 
continued  by  land  and  water  alternately,  and  was 
attended  with  great  inconvenience,  the  extremity  of 
famine  being  of  the  number  of  their  hardships.  Their 
best  hopes  were  now  placed  in  falling  in  with  the  threat- 
ened ambuscades,  as  there  they  might  find  a  store  of 
provisions.  So  extremely  were  they  pinched  with  hunger 
that  the  leathern  bags  found  at  a  deserted  Spanish  sta- 
tion formed  a  delicious  meal.     About  this  delicacy  they 


88  FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

even  quarrelled,  and,  it  is  said,  openly  regretted  that  no 
Spaniards  were  found,  as  failing  provisions,  they  had 
resolved  to  have  roasted  or  boiled  a  few  of  the  enemy  to 
satisfy  their  ravening  appetites. 

"Throughout  the  whole  track  to  Panama  the  Span- 
iards had  taken  care  not  to  leave  the  smallest  quantity  of 
provisions,  and  any  other  soldiers  than  the  buccaneers 
must  have  perished  long  before  even  the  distant  view 
was  obtained  of  the  city,  but  their  powers  of  endurance, 
from  their  hardy  modes  of  life,  were  become  almost  super- 
human. At  nightfall,  when  they  reached  their  halting- 
place,  '  happy  was  he  who  had  reserved  since  morn 
any  small  piece  of  leather  whereof  to  make  his  supper, 
drinking  after  it  a  good  draught  of  water  for  his  great- 
est comfort. '  Their  mode  of  preparing  this  tough  meal 
deserves  to  be  noticed.  The  skins  were  first  sliced,  then 
alternately  dipped  in  water  and  beat  between  two  stones 
to  render  them  tender;  lastly,  the  remaining  hair  was 
scraped  off,  and  the  morsel  broiled,  cut  into  small  bits, 
and  deliberately  chewed,  with  frequent  mouthfuls  of 
water  to  eke  out  and  lengthen  the  repast. 

"On  the  fifth  day  at  another  deserted  ambuscade  a 
little  maize  was  found,  and  also  some  wheat,  wine,  and 
plantains.  This,  scanty  as  it  was,  proved  a  seasonable 
supply  to  those  who  drooped,  and  it  was  thriftily  dealt 
out  among  them.  Next  day  a  barnful  of  maize  was  dis- 
covered, which,  beating  down  the  door,  the  famished 
buccaneers  rushed  upon  and  devoured  without  any 
preparation.  Yet  all  this  hardship  could  not  turn  them 
aside  from  the  scent  of  prey,  though  symptoms  of  dis- 
content became  visible  in  their  ranks.  At  a  village 
called  Cruz,  perceiving  from  a  distance  a  great  smoke, 
they  joyfully  promised  themselves  rest  and  refreshment, 
but  on  reaching  it  found  no  inhabitant,  and  every  house 
either  burnt  down  or  in  flames,  so  determined  were  the 
Spaniards  to  oppose  the  onward  march  of  the  terrible 
beings,  presented  to  their  imaginations  under  every 
shape  of  horror.  The  only  animals  remaining,  the  dogs 
and  cats  of  the  village,  fell  an  immediate  sacrifice  to  the 
wolfish  hunger  of  the  buccaneers. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  89 

"Morgan  had  now  some  difficulty  in  preserving  disci- 
pline, and  in  keeping  his  companions  or  followers  from 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  or  Indians,  when 
straggling  about  in  search  of  anything  they  could 
devour.     In  this  way  one  man  was  lost. 

"They  were  now  within  eight  leagues  of  Panama,  and 
the  nearer  they  approached  the  more  anxious  and  vigi- 
lant was  Morgan  in  looking  out  for  the  threatened  am- 
buscades of  the  enemy,  who,  he  naturally  conjectured, 
might  have  retired  to  consolidate  his  forces.  On  the 
eighth  day  they  were  surprised  by  a  shower  of  Indian 
arrows  poured  upon  them  from  some  unseen  quarter, 
and,  advancing  into  the  woods,  maintained  a  sharp, 
short  contest  with  a  party  of  Indians,  many  of  whom 
fell  offering  a  brave  though  vain  resistance.  Ten  of  the 
freebooters  were  killed  in  this  skirmish.  The  buccaneers, 
who  had  already  three  Indian  guides,  runaways,  found 
in  Santa  Catalina,  endeavored  at  this  place  to  make 
some  prisoners  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  intelhgence, 
but  the  Indians  were  too  swift  of  foot. 

' '  After  another  twenty-four  hours  of  suffering,  under 
which  only  freebooters  or  Indians  could  have  borne  up, 
on  the  morning  of  the  ninth  day  of  the  march,  from  a 
high  mountain  the  majestic  South  Sea  was  joyfully 
descried,  with  ships  and  boats  sailing  upon  its  bosom, 
and  peacefully  setting  out  from  the  concealed  port  of 
Panama.  Herds  of  cattle,  horses  and  asses,  feeding  in 
the  valley  below  the  eminence  on  which  they  stood, 
formed  a  sight  not  less  welcome.  They  rushed  to  the 
feast,  and,  cutting  up  the  anunals,  devoured  their  flesh 
half -raw,  more  resembling  cannibals  than  Europeans  at 
this  banquet,  the  blood  many  times  running  down  from 
their  beards  unto  the  middle  of  their  bodies. 

"This  savage  meal  being  ended,  the  journey  was  re- 
sumed, Morgan  still  endeavoring  to  gain  information  by 
taking  prisoners,  as  on  his  whole  line  of  march  he  had 
obtained  speech  of  neither  Spaniard  or  Indian. 

"In  the  same  evening  the  steeple  of  Panama  was  be- 
held at  a  distance,  and,  forgetting  all  their  sufferings,  the 
buccaneers  gave  way  to  the  most  rapturous  exultation, 


90  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

tossing  their  caps  into  the  air,  leaping,  shouting,  beat- 
.  ing  their  drums,  and  soxuiding  their  trumpets  at  the 
sight  of  so  glorious  a  plunder,  and  as  if  victory  were 
already  consummated.  They  encamped  for  the  night 
near  the  city,  intending  to  make  the  assault  early  in  the 
morning.  The  same  night  a  party  of  fifty  Spanish 
horsemen  came  out  as  if  to  reconnoitre,  advanced  within 
musket  shot  of  the  pirates,  scornfully  challenged  '  the 
dogs '  to  come  on,  and  then  retired,  leaving  six  or  eight 
of  their  number  to  watch  the  enemy's  motions.  Upon 
this  the  great  guns  of  the  town  began  to  play  on  the 
camp,  but  were  too  distant  or  ill-directed  to  do  any  ex- 
ecution, and  instead  of  betraying  alarm,  the  buccaneers, 
having  placed  sentinels  around  their  camps,  made  an- 
other voracious  meal  preparatory  to  the  next  day's 
business,  threw  themselves  upon  the  grass,  and,  lulled 
by  the  Spanish  artillery,  slept  soundly  till  the  dawn. 

"  The  camp  was  astir  betimes,  and  the  men  being 
mustered  and  arrayed,  with  drums  and  trumpets  sound- 
ing, they  advanced  towards  the  city;  but  instead  of 
taking  the  ordinai-y  route  which  the  Spaniards  were 
prepared  to  defend,  by  the  advice  of  one  of  the  Indian 
guides,  they  struck  through  a  wood  by  a  tangled  and 
difficult  path,  in  which,  however,  immediate  obstruction 
could  not  be  apprehended.  Before  the  Spaniards  could 
counteract  this  unexpected  movement,  the  buccaneers 
had  advanced  some  way.  The  Governor  of  Panama,  who 
led  the  forces,  commanded  200  cavalry  and  four  regi- 
ments of  infantry ;  and  a  number  of  Indian  auxiliaries 
conducted  an  immense  herd  of  wild  bulls  to  be  driven 
among  the  ranks  of  the  buccaneers,  and  which  were 
expected  to  throw  them  into  disorder.  This  extraordi- 
nary arm  of  war  was  viewed  by  the  hunters  of  Hispa- 
niola  and  Campeachy  with  indifference,  but  they  were 
somewhat  alarmed  at  the  regular  and  imposing  array  of 
the  troops  drawn  up  to  receive  them.  It  was,  however, 
too  late  to  retreat.  'They  divided  into  three  detach- 
ments, 200  dextrous  marksmen  leading  the  advance. 
They  now  stood  on  the  top  of  a  little  eminence,  whence 
the  whole  Spanish  force,  the  city,  and  the  champaign- 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  91 

country  around  were  distinctly  seen.  As  they  moved 
downward  the  Spanish  Cavahy,  shouting  Viva  el  Rey, 
immediately  advanced  to  meet  them,  but  the  ground 
happened  to  be  soft  and  marshy,  which  greatly  ob- 
structed the  "manoeuvres  of  the  horsemen.  The  advance 
of  the  buccaneers,  all  picked  marksmen,  knelt  and  re- 
ceived them  with  a  volley,  and  the  conflict  instantly 
became  close  and  hot.  The  buccaneers,  throwing  them- 
selves between  the  Spanish  horse  and  foot,  succeeded 
in  separating  them,  and  the  wild  bulls,  taking  fright 
from  the  tumult  and  the  noise  of  the  guns,  ran  away,  or 
were  shot  by  the  buccaneers  before  they  could  effect  any 
mischief. 

' '  After  a  contest  of  two  hours  the  Spanish  cavalry 
gave  way.  Many  were  killed,  and  the  rest  fled ;  which 
the  foot-soldiers  perceiving,  fired  their  last  charge, 
threw  down  their  muskets,  and  followed  the  example  of 
the  cavaliers.  Some  of  them  took  refuge  in  the  adjoin- 
ing thickets ;  and  though  the  buccaneers  did  not  continue 
the  pursuit,  they  took  a  savage  pleasure  in  shooting 
without  mercy  all  who  accidentally  fell  into  their  hands. 
In  this  way  several  priests  and  friars  who  were  made 
prisoners  were  pistolled  by  the  orders  of  Morgan.  A 
Spanish  officer  who  was  made  prisoner  gave  the  buccan- 
eers minute  intelligence  of  the  force  of  the  enemy  and 
the  plan  of  defence,  which  enabled  them  to  approach  the 
town  from  the  safest  point;  but  the  advance  was  still 
attended  with  difficulty. 

' '  After  the  rout  which  had  taken  place  in  the  open 
field,  and  the  slaughter  which  followed,  the  buccaneers 
rested  for  a  little  space,  and  during  this  pause,  solemnly 
plighted  their  honor  by  oaths  to  each  other,  never  to 
yield  while  a  single  man  remained  alive.  This  done, 
carrying  their  prisoners  with  them,  they  advanced  upon 
the  great  guns  planted  in  the  streets  and  the  hasty 
defences  thrown  up  to  repel  them.  In  this  renewed  as- 
sault, the  buccaneers  suffered  severely  before  they  could 
make  good  those  close  quarters  in  which  they  ever  main- 
tained a  decided  superiority  in  fighting.  Still,  they 
resolutely  advanced  to  the  final  grapple,  the  Spaniards 


92  Fivt:  y^ahs  at  PANA.AfA. 

keeping  up  an  incessant  fire.  The  town  was  gained 
after  a  desperate  conflict  of  three  hours  maintained  in 
its  open  streets. 

"In  this  assault  the  buccaneers  neither  gave  nor  ac- 
cepted quarter,  and  the  carnage  on  both  sides  was  great. 
Six  "hundred  Spaniards  fell  on  that  day,  nor  was  the 
number  of  the  buccaneers  who  perished  much  less ;  but  to 
those  who  survived  a  double  share  of  plunder  was  at  all 
times  ample  consolation  for  the  loss  of  companions 
whose  services  were  no  longer  required  in  its  acquisition. 
The  city  was  no  sooner  gained  than  Morgan,  who  saw 
the  temper  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  obstinate  nature  of 
the  resistance  they  had  offered,  and  who  well  knew  the 
besetting  sins  of  his  followers,  prudently  prohibited 
theju  from  tasting  wine,  and  aware  that  such  an  order 
would  be  very  little  regarded,  were  it  enforced  by  noth- 
ing save  a  simple  command,  he  affirmed  that  he  had 
received  private  intelligence  that  all  the  wine  had  been 
poisoned.  They  were  therefore  enjoined  not  to  touch  it, 
under  the  dread  of  poisoning  and  the  penalties  of  dis- 
cipline. Neither  of  these  motives  were  sufficient  to 
enforce  rigid  abstinence  among  the  buccaneers,  though 
they  operated  till  indulgence  became  more  safe. 

"  As  soon  as  possession  of  the  city  was  gained,  guards 
were  placed,  and  at  the  same  time  fii'es  broke  out  simul- 
taneously in  different  quarters,  which  were  attributed 
by  the  Spaniards  to  the  pirates,  and  by  them  to  the 
inhabitants.  Both  assisted  in  endeavoring  to  extinguish 
the  dreadful  conflagration,  which  raged  with  fury ;  but 
the  houses,  being  built  of  cedar,  caught  the  flames  like 
tinder,  and  were  consumed  in  a  very  short  time.  The 
inhabitants  had  previously  removed  or  concealed  the 
most  valuable  part  of  their  goods  and  furniture. 

"  The  city  of  Panama  consisted  of  about  twelve  thou- 
sand houses,  many  of  them  large  and  magnificent.  It 
contained  also  eight  monasteries  and  two  churches,  all 
richly  furnished.  The  concealment  of  the  church  plate 
drew  upon  the  ecclesiastics  the  peculiar  vengeance  of  the 
heretical  buccaneers,  who,  however,  spared  no  one.  The 
conflagration  which  they  could  not  arrest,  they  seemed 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  93 

at  last  to  take  a  savage  delight  in  spreading.  A  slave 
factory  belonging  to  the  Genoese,  was  burnt  to  the 
ground,  together  with  many  warehouses  stored  with 
meal.  Many  of  the  miserable  Africans  whom  the 
Genoese  brought  for  sale  to  Peru,  perished  in  the  flames 
which  raged  or  smouldered  for  neaz-ly  four  weeks. 

' '  For  some  time  the  buccaneers,  afraid  of  being  sur- 
prised and  overpowered  by  the  Spaniards,  who  still 
reckoned  ten  for  one  of  their  numbers,  encamped  with- 
out the  town.  Morgan  had  also  weakened  his  force  by 
sending  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  back  to  Chagre,  with 
news  of  his  victory.  Yet  by  this  handful  of  men,  the 
panic-struck  Spaniards  were  held  in  check  and  subjec- 
tion while  the  buccaneers  either  raged  like  demons 
through  the  burning  town,  or  prowled  among  the  ruins 
and  ashes  in  search  of  plate  and  other  valuable  articles. 

"  The  property  which  the  Spaniards  had  concealed  in 
deep  wells  and  cisterns,  was  nearly  all  discovered,  and 
the  most  active  of  the  buccaneers  were  sent  out  to  the 
woods  and  heights  to  search  for  and  drive  back  the 
miserable  inhabitants  who  had  fled  from  the  city  with 
their  effects.  In  two  days  they  brought  in  about  two 
hundred  of  the  fugitives  as  prisoners.  Of  those  unhappy 
persons  many  were  females  who  found  the  merciless 
buccaneers  no  better  than  their  fears  had  painted  them.* 

' '  In  plundering  the  land  Morgan  had  not  neglected 
the  sea.     By  sea,  many  of  the  principal  inhabitants  had 

*  "  The  Spanish  colonists  of  South  America  had  a  twofold  reason 
for  detesting  the  buccaneers.  They  were  English  heretics  as  well  as 
lawless  miscreants,  capable  of  the  foulest  crimes ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to 
say  whether  in  the  idea  of  the  indolent,  uninstructed,  priest-ridden 
inhabitants  of  Panama,  Porto  Bello,  and  Carthagena,  they  were  not  as 
hateful  and  alarming  in  the  first  character  as  in  the  last.  A  Spanish 
lady,  one  of  his  prisoners,  with  whom  Morgan,  the  buccaneer  com- 
mander, fell  in  love,  is  described  as  believing,  till  she  saw  them,  that 
the  freebooters  were  not  men,  but  some  sort  of  monsters  named 
heretics,  '  who  did  neither  invoke  the  Blessed  Trinity,  nor  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ.'  The  civilities  of  Captain  Morgan  inclined  her  to  better 
thoughts  of  his  faith  and  Christianity,  especially  as  she  heard  him 
frequently  swear  by  the  sacred  names.  '  Neither  did  she  now  think 
them  to  be  so  bad,  or  to  have  the  shapes  of  beasts,  as  from  the  relations 


94  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

escaped,  and  the  boat  was  immediately  sent  in  pursuit, 
which  brought  in  three  prizes;  though  a  galleon,  in 
which  was  embarked  all  the  plate  and  jewels  belonging 
to  the  king  of  Spain,  and  the  wealth  of  the  principal 
nunnery  of  the  town,  escaped,  from  the  buccaneers  in- 
dulging in  a  brutal  revel  in  their  own  bark  till  it  was  too 
late  to  follow  and  capture  the  ship.  The  pursuit  was 
afterwards  continued  for  four  days,  at  the  end  of  which 
the  buccaneers  returned  to  Panama  with  another  prize, 
worth  20,000  pieces  of  eight  in  goods  from  Paita. 

"  Meanwhile,  on  the  opposite  coast,  the  ships'  com- 
panies left  at  Chagre,  were  exercising  their  vocation, 
and  had  captured  one  large  Spanish  vessel,  which, 
unaware  of  the  hands  into  which  the  castle  had  fallen, 
ran  in  under  it  for  protection.  While  the  buccaneers 
were  thus  employed  at  sea,  and  at  Panama  and  Chagre, 
parties  continued  to  scour  the  surrounding  country, 
taking  in  turn  the  congenial  duty  of  foraging  and  bring- 
ing in  booty  and  prisoners,  on  whom  they  exercised  the 
most  atrocious  cruelties,  unscrupulously  employing  the 
rack,  and  sparing  neither  age,  sex,  nor  condition. 
Religious  persons  were  the  subjects  of  the  most  refined 
barbarity,  as  they  were  believed  to  direct  and  influence 
the  rest  of  the  inhabitants,  both  in  their  first  resistance 
and  in  the  subsequent  concealment  of  property.  During 
the  perpetration  of  these  outrages,  Morgan,  as  has  been 
noticed,  fell  in  love  with  a  beautiful  Spanish  woman,  his 

of  several  people,  she  had  heard  oftentimes.  For  as  to  the  name  of 
robbers  or  thieves  which  was  commonly  given  them  by  others,  she 
wondered  not  much  at  it,  seeing,  as  she  said,  that  among  all  nations 
of  the  universe  there  be  found  wicked  men  who  covet  the  goods  of 
others."  It  is  clear  that  the  heretic  was  as  great  a  curiosity,  if  not  a 
more  truculent  monster,  than  the  buccaneer.  Another  lady  of  Panama 
was  very  curious  to  see  the  extraordinary  animals  called  buccaneers, 
and  the  first  time  she  had  that  happiness  exclaimed  aloud,  "  Jesu, 
bless  me!  These  thieves  are  like  unto  us  Spaniards."  About  a  cen- 
tury before  the  storming  of  Panama,  one  powerful  reason  with  the 
Spaniards  for  preventing  the  English  from  passing  the  Straits  of 
Magellan  was,  to  preserve  the  natives  of  the  newly  discovered  Islands 
of  the  Pacific  '  from  the  venom  of  their  heresy."  The  above  quotation 
is  from  the  "  History  of  the  Buccaneers,"  London,  1741,— W.  N, 


FIVi:  YEARS  AT  PANA3IA.  95 

prisoner,  and  the  wife  of  one  of  the  principal  merchants. 
She  rejected  his  infamous  addresses  with  firmness  and 
spirit ;  and  the  bviccaneer  commander,  ahke  a  rufSan  in 
his  love  and  hate,  used  her  with  a  severity  that  dis- 
gusted even  those  of  his  own  gang,  who  had  not  thrown 
aside  every  feeling  of  manhood;  and  he  was  fain  to 
charge  his  fair  prisoner  with  treachery  to  excuse  the 
baseness  of  the  treatment  she  received  by  his  orders. 
This  alleged  treachery  consisted  in  corresponding  with 
her  countrymen,  and  endeavoring  to  effect  her  escape. 

"  In  the  meanwhile,  a  plan  had  entered  the  minds  of  a 
party  of  the  buccaneers  which  did  not  suit  the  views  nor 
meet  the  approbation  of  their  leader.  They  had  resolved 
to  seize  a  ship  in  the  port,  cruise  upon  the  South  Sea  on 
their  own  account,  till  satiated  with  booty,  and  then 
either  establish  themselves  on  some  island,  or  return  to 
Europe  by  the  East  Indies.  Captain  Morgan  could 
neither  spare  equipments  nor  men  for  this  project,  of 
which  he  received  private  information.  He  immedi- 
ately ordered  the  mainmast  of  the  ship  to  be  cut  down 
and  burnt,  together  with  every  other  vessel  in  the  port, 
thus  effectually  preventing  desertion  on  this  side  of 
America.  The  arms,  ammunition  and  stores  secretly 
collected  for  this  bold  cruise  on  the  South  Sea  were 
applied  to  other  purposes. 

"Nothing  more  was  to  be  wrung  forth  from  Panama, 
which,  after  a  destructive  sojourn  of  four  weeks,  Morgan 
resolved  to  leave.  Beasts  of  burden  were  therefore  col- 
lected from  all  quarters  to  convey  the  spoils  to  the  oppo- 
site coast.  The  cannon  were  spiked,  and  scouts  sent  out 
to  learn  what  measures  had  been  taken  by  the  governor 
of  Panama  to  intercept  the  return  to  Chagre.  The  Span- 
iards were  too  much  depressed  to  have  made  any  prep- 
aration either  to  annoy  or  cut  off  the  retreat  of  their 
inveterate  enemies ;  and  on  the  24th  of  February,  the 
buccaneers,  apprehensive  of  no  opposition,  left  the  ruins 
of  Panama  with  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  mules  laden 
with  their  spoils  and  above  six  hundred  prisoners,  in- 
cluding women,  children  and  slaves.  The  misery  of 
these  wretched  captives,  driven  on  in  the  midst  of  the 


DC  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

armed  buccaneers,  exceeds  descri^ition.  They  believed 
that  they  were  all  to  be  carried  to  Jamaica,  England,  or 
some  equally  wild,  distant,  and  savage  country,  to  be 
sold  for  slaves ;  and  the  cruel  craft  of  Morgan  heightened 
these  fears,  the  more  readily  to  extort  the  ransom  he 
demanded  for  the  freedom  of  his  unhappy  prisoners. 
In  vain  the  women  threw  themselves  at  his  feet,  suppli- 
cating for  the  mercy  of  being  allowed  to  remain  amid 
the  ruins  of  their  former  homes,  or  in  the  woods  and 
huts  with  their  husbands  and  children.  His  answer  was, 
that  he  came  not  here  to  listen  to  cries  and  lamenta- 
tions, but  to  get  money,  which,  unless  he  obtained,  he 
would  assuredly  carry  them  all  where  they  would  little 
like  to  go.  Thre^  days  were  granted  in  which  they 
might  avail  themselves  of  the  conditions  of  ransom. 
Several  were  happy  enough  to  be  able  to  redeem  them- 
selves, or  were  rescued  by  the  contributions  sent  in; 
and  with  the  remaining  captives,  the  pirates  pushed 
onward,  making  new  prisoners  and  gathering  fresh 
spoils  on  their  way. 

' '  The  conduct  of  Morgan  at  this  time  disproves  many 
of  the  extravagant  notions  propagated  about  the  high 
honor  of  the  buccaneers  in  their  dealings  with  each 
other.  Halting  at  a  convenient  place  for  his  purpose, 
in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness,  and  about  half  way  to 
Chagre,  he  drew  up  his  comrades,  and  insisted  that,  be- 
sides taking  an  oath,  declaring  that  all  plunder  had  been 
surrendered  to  the  common  stock,  each  man  should  be 
searched,  he  himself  submitting  in  the  first  place  to  the 
degrading  scrutiny,  though  it  was  suspected  that  the 
leading  motive  of  the  whole  manoeuvre  Avas  the  desire 
of  concealing  his  own  peculation  and  fraudulent  dealing 
with  his  associates.  The  French  buccaneers  who  accom- 
panied the  expedition,  were  indignant  at  treatment  so 
much  at  variance  with  the  maxims  and  usages  of  the 
gentlemen  rovers;  but  being  the  weaker  party,  they 
were  compelled  to  submit. 

"  The  buccaneers  and  their  prisoners  performed  the 
remainder  of  the  journey  by  water,  and  when  arrived  at 
Chagre,   Morgan,  who  knew  not  how  to  dispose  of  his  un- 


FIVi:  YEARS  AT  PANA3IA.  97 

redeemed  prisoners,  shipped  them  all  off  for  Porto  Bello, 
making  them  the  bearers  of  his  demand  of  ransom  from 
the  governor  of  that  city  for  the  castle  of  Chagre.  To 
this  insolent  message  the  governor  of  Porto  Bello  replied, 
that  Morgan  might  make  of  the  castle  what  he  pleased ; 
not  a  ducat  should  be  given  for  its  ransom. 

' '  There  was  thus  no  immediate  prospect  of  any  more 
plunder  in  this  quarter,  and  nothing  remained  to  be 
done  but  to  divide  the  spoils  already  acquired.  The 
individual  shares  fell  so  far  short  of  the  expectations  of 
the  buccaneers,  that  they  openly  grumbled  and  accused 
their  chief  of  the  worst  crime  of  which,  in  their  eyes,  he 
could  be  guilty, — secreting  the  richest  of  the  jewels 
for  himself.  Two  hundred  pieces  of  eight  to  each  man 
was  thought  a  very  small  return  for  the  plunder  of  so 
wealthy  a  city,  and  a  very  trifling  reward  for  the  toil 
and  danger  that  had  been  undergone  in  assaulting  it. 
Matters  were  assuming  so  serious  an  aspect  among  the 
fraternity  that  Morgan,  who  knew  the  temper  of  his 
friends,  deemed  it  advisable  to  steal  away  with  what  he 
had  obtained.  He  immediately  ordered  the  walls  of 
Chagre  to  be  destroyed,  carried  the  guns  on  board  his 
own  ship,  and,  followed  by  one  or  two  vessels,  com- 
manded by  persons  in  his  confidence,  sailed  for  Jamaica, 
leaving  his  enraged  associates  in  want  of  every  neces- 
sary. Those  who  followed  him  were  all  Englishmen, 
who,  as  the  French  buccaneers  fully  believed,  connived 
at  the  frauds  and  shared  in  the  gains  of  Morgan.  They 
would  instantly  have  pursued  him  to  sea,  and  the 
Spaniai'ds  might  have  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
the  buccaneer  fleet  divided  and  fighting  against  itself, 
had  they  with  a  force  so  much  weaker,  dared  to  ventui-e 
so  unequal  an  encounter.  The  vessels  deserted  by  Mor- 
gan separated  here  and  the  companies  sought  their 
fortunes  in  different  quarters,  none  of  them  much  the 
richer  for  the  misery  and  devastation  they  had  carried 
to  Panama." 

"  Before  quitting  this  part  of  the  subject,  it  may  be 
proper  to  notice  the  conclusion  of  the  adventures  of  the 
7 


98  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

notorious  Morgan.  In  the  year  which  elapsed  between 
the  plunder  of  Panama  and  1680,  he  had  sufficient  address 
and  interest,  or,  more  probably,  skill  in  the  appliance  of 
his  ill-gotten  wealth,  to  obtain  from  Charles  II.  the 
honor  of  knighthood,  and  afterward  to  be  appointed 
deputy -governor  of  Jamaica." 

It  is  eminently  satisfactory  to  know,  that  Morgan 
was  pursued  by  fate,  and  to  read  that  some  of  his  old 
companions  denounced  him,  and  that  "after  the  accession 
of  James  II.  got  him  removed  from  his  office,  (deputy- 
governor  of  Jamaica,  Capt.  Sir  Henry  Morgan),  and 
committed  for  a  time  to  a  prison  in  England." 

The  maxim  of  the  buccaneers  was,  ' '  No  place  beyond 
the  line,"  and  they  were 

"  Linked  to  one  virtue,  and  a  thousand  crimes."  * 


♦  Lives  of  Drake,  Cavendish,  et  ah,  New  York. 


The  Markkt,  Panama.     Tide  Out. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EAKLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  ISTHMUS,  OB  SANTA  MAJILA  DE  LA 
ANTIGUA  DEL,  DAKIEN — THE  FIEST  SEE  IN  AMERICA — 
MINAS  DEL  KEY — OLD  CANNON. 

Until  recent  times  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  comprised 
that  huge  neck  of  land  uniting  South  and  Central 
America.  It  forms  the  southern  part  of  the  State  of 
Panama,  the  State  being  the  extreme  northern  end  of 
South  America.  To-day  what  is  considered  Darien  is 
some  distance  from  Panama,  and  the  narrowest  part  of 
the  Isthmus  extends  from  Colon  to  Panama.  The  early 
writers  gave  its  breadth  as  eighteen  Spanish  leagues,  and 
this  is  confirmed  by  modern  surveys,  which  place  it  at 
some  forty-seven  miles. 

I  have  already  stated  that  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  dis- 
covered the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  morning  of  September 
26,  1513.*  Balboa  was  born  in  1475  in  the  city  of  Xeres 
de  los  Cabelleros,  in  the  Province  of  Estremadura,  in 
Spain.  He  was  of  noble  descent,  intensely  respectable, 
and  correspondingly  poor.  The  same  conditions  seem  to 
obtain  to-day  outside  of  Spain.  His  first  voyage  was 
made  in  October,  1500,  under  Rodrigo  de  Bastides.  With 
Bastides  he  coasted  the  Terra  Firma,  or  Spanish  Main, 
from  Venezuela  of  to-day  to  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  or 
nearly  to  Porto  Bello.  Balboa  was  a  clear  thinking,  keen 
man ;  he  made  an  excellent  trader  and  was  successful  in 
his  bargains  with  the  Indians  for  gold  and  pearls. 
When  the  expedition  under  Bastides  was  about  to'return 
to  Spain  they  found  that  their  vessels  were  leaking, 
holes  having  been  drilled  in  their  sides  by  a  worm 
called  the  broma  in  those  days, — to-day  is  known  as 

*  "  Voyages  of  Spanish  Discovery,"  New  York. 
99 


100  Firi;  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

the  terredo  navalis.  This  destructive  little  creature  I 
can  best  describe  by  saying,  that  he  looks  like  a  pale 
string  of  blanc-mange  and  is  soft  and  gelatinous.  His 
head  is  armed  with  such  a  sharp  cutting  apparatus,  that 
he  drills  his  way  even  into  soft  rocks,  and  his  principal 
occupation  seems  to  consist  of  cutting  holes  into  woods, 
the  haiyiest  of  which  fails  to  resist  him.  Once  domi- 
ciled in  a  piece  of  timber  he  makes  a  lining  to  his  new 
home,  which  somewhat  resembles  a  long,  thin  tube. 
The  early  Spaniards,  whose  vessels  were  destitute  of 
copper,  had  great  trouble  with  this  pest  of  the  South 
Seas.  Many  of  the  vessels  of  Columbus  suffered  from 
it.  After  a  most  difficult  and  dangerous  passage,  the 
ships  of  Bastides  reached  a  small  island  off  the  coast  of 
Hispaniola — or  Spain  the  Less.  To-day  this  is  known  as 
the  island  of  Santo  Domingo,  or,  to  anglicize  it,  Saint 
Dominic*  Off  that  island  their  worm-eaten  vessels 
went  to  the  bottom,  but  they  saved  the  greater  part  of 
their  valuable  cargoes.  To  all  readers  of  the  early  history 
of  that  time  the  name  of  Bobadilla  will  be  familiar.  He 
was  governor  of  Santo  Domingo  at  that  time.  News 
reached  him  that  these  Spaniards  were  trading  in  the 
island  without  his  permission.  This  was  considered  a 
direct  menace  to  his  prerogatives.  Hearing  of  the 
approach  of  the  wrecked  crews  to  Santo  Domingo  City, 
he  ordered  their  arrest,  and  Bastides  was  sent  to  Spain 
as  a  prisoner.  The  ships  of  the  fleet  that  accompanied 
the  vessel  carrying  him,  were  all  lost  in  a  dreadful 
hurricane.  His  vessel  reached  Cadiz  safely  in  Septem- 
ber, 1503,  and  he  was  released  by  the  government.  It 
was  Bobadilla  who  ordered  the  imprisonment  of  Colum- 
bus in  the  island  of  Santo  Domingo.  It  was  an  iniqui- 
tous transaction.  The  old  square  Moorish  tower  where 
Columbus  was  imprisoned, — in  fact,  chained  to  the 
floor, — may  be  seen  in  the  city  of  Santo  Domingo,  to  this 
day.  Balboa  remained  in  Santo  Domingo,  where  he 
tried  his  hand  at  farming,  but  at  the  end  of  a  few 
years  all  that  he  had  acquired  during  that  successful 

*  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  New  York. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  101 

trip  to  the  Terra  Firma,  was  gone,  and  he  was  in  debt ; 
and  that,  under  Spanish  law,  meant  a  bondage  almost 
worse  than  death.  His  early  life  as  a  soldier,  and  then 
as  a  sailor,  had  developed  the  usual  spirit  of  unrest,  and 
he  wished  to  revisit  the  Terra  Firma,  but  could  not  do 
so,  as  his  creditors  would  have  prevented  his  escape. 
His  fertility  of  thought  and  great  executive  powers, 
were  well  illustrated  in  the  ingenious  way  in  which  he 
gave  his  creditors  the  slip.  "He  placed  himself  in  a 
cask  and  caused  it  to  be  carried  from  his  farm  (at  Salva- 
tierra  on  the  sea-coast)  on  board  a  ship  which  was  ready 
to  sail  to  the  coast  of  South  Ameiica.  When  the  ship 
was  fairly  out  at  sea  Balboa  appeared  from  his  cask, 
much  to  the  surprise  of  the  captain,  who  was  very  angry, 
and  told  poor  Balboa  he  would  put  him  ashore  on  the 
first  inhabited  island  he  reached.  But  Balboa  told  the 
commander  his  story,  and  he  became  less  angry,  and 
agreed  to  let  him  continue  with  him. 

' '  The  part  of  the  South  American  continent  which  lies 
along  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  had  been  divided  by  King 
Ferdinand  into  two  provinces,  the  boundary  line  of 
which  was  carried  through  the  Gulf  of  Uraba.  The 
eastern  part,  extending  to  Cape  de  la  Vela,  was  called 
New  Andalusia,  and  the  government  of  it  was  given  to 
Ojeada.".  .  .  * 

The  Spaniards  at  that  time  had  an  important  settle- 
ment at  Carthagena  on  the  Spanish  Main.  This  city  lay 
somewhat  to  the  south  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  and  it 
was  Spain's  stronghold  in  that  part  of  the  world.  Ojeada, 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Uraba,  had  founded 
a  colony  caUed  by  him  San  Sebastian.  This  was  in 
New  Andalusia.  Balboa  sent  word  to  his  friends  in  the 
Island  of  Hispaniola,  and  induced  one  of  them,  a 
wealthy  lawyer.  Bachelor  Encisco,  who  had  enriched 
himself  practising  there,  to  help  him. 

Bachelor  Encisco  sent  word  to  his  friend  Balboa  that 
he  would  supply  funds  for  an  expedition.  He  "immedi- 
ately fitted  out  some  vessels.    And  it  was  on  board  of 

*  "  Balboa.  Cortes  and  Pizarro,"  New  York. 


1 02  FI VE  YEARS  A  T  PA  NA  MA . 

one  of  these  that  Balboa  had  caused  himself  to  be  con- 
veyed in  a  cask  in  the  manner  which  has  just  been 
mentioned." 

Bachelor  Encisco's  venture  promised  to  be  unsuccess- 
ful. It  was  "while  he  was  thus  desponding,  Balboa, 
who  had  escaped  in  the  cask  from  Hispaniola  and  had 
taken  refuge  on  board  his  ship,  came  to  him,  and  pro- 
posed that  they  should  go  to  a  place  which  he  remem- 
bered having  formerly  visited  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Gulf  of  Uraba.  He  told  Encisco  that  there  was  a 
pleasant  Indian  village,  at  the  time  he  made  his  voyage 
with  Bastides,  which  was  called  Darien  by  the  natives. 
The  country  around,  he  said,  was  fruitful  and  abundant 
and  was  said  to  contain  mines  of  gold." * 

This  well  timed  advice  of  Balboa  led  to  a  settlement  on 
the  Isthmus,  which  Encisco  named  Santa  Maria  de  la 
Antigua  del  Darien.  Balboa's  good  judgment  and  sound 
common  sense  led  to  instant  recognition,  and  he  played 
a  most  important  role  in  the  history  of  the  settlement. 
His  discover}^  of  the  Pacific  is  already  familiar  to  my 
readers,  who,  if  further  interested  in  this  remarkable 
man,  will  find  ample  material  in  any  of  the  several 
authorities  quoted  by  me.  The  whole  thing  reads  like 
some  charming  tale  from  the  Arabian  Nights.  His  dis- 
covery of  the  Pacific  led  to  the  building  of  Panama, 
From  that  city  his  fellow  discoverer,  Pizarro,  set  sail  on 
the  14th  of  November,  1524,  and  discovered  Peru,  one  of 
the  wealthiest  countries  in  the  world ;  and  while  Pizarro 
and  Balboa  were  pushing  their  investigations,  Cortes 
was  doing  noble  work  in  Mexico. 

The  tales  of  wealth  and  pearls  that  reached  the  conti- 
nent and  spread  all  over  Europe,  inflamed  all  with  the 
execrable  sed  d'oro,  or  the  "cursed  thirst  for  gold,"  as 
the  Spanish  called  it.  I  may  be  permitted  to  remark  at 
this  point,  as  a  physician,  that  it  is  an  old  time  disease, 
and  that  it  seems  to  be  as  acute  now  as  then.  We  do 
not  go  at  our  neighbors  with  gunpowder  and  cutlass ;  we 

*"  Balboa,  Cortes  and  Pizarro,"  New  York.  See  also  "Voyages 
Spauish  Discovery,"  New  York. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  103 

fleece  them  quietly  on  the  Stock  Exchange  and  else- 
where, ours  being  a  high  phase  of  civilization.  So 
disturbing  were  these  rumors  that  Paterson  started  his 
scheme  which  led  to  the  settlement  in  Darien,  to  which 
I  have  made  reference,  and  which  ended  in  such  terrible 
disaster.  It  closed  in  the  South  Sea  Bubble  No.  1. 
Some  fovir  minirms  of  pounds  were  invested  in  that^nd 
so  serious  was  the  loss  in  those  days  that  old  England 
was  thi'eatened  with  bankruptcy,  from  which  nothing 
but  the  enactment  of  special  legislation  saved  it.  Apro- 
pos of  Paterson  founding  a  colony  in  the  Darien,  it  may 
interest  some  to  know  that  M.  de  Lesseps,  among  his 
other  concessions  from  the  government  of  the  United 
States  of  Colombia,  has  secured  a  tremendous  slice  of 
territory  in  that  same  Darien.  Darien  is  noted  for  its 
woods,  its  poisonous  snakes,  and  its  dangerous  fevers; 
it  has  a  pestilential  climate,  and  any  attemj^t  to  colonize 
it  with  whites  will  be  to  consign  them  to  death — but, 
as  we  know,  M.  de  Lesseps  is  a  famous  Undertaker. 
In  fact,  parts  of  Darien  are  little  better  than  a  vast 
swamp. 

The  earliest  church  in  the  three  Americas  was  erected 
in  Darien,  and  it  bore  the  name  of  Encisco's  settlement, 
or  Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua  del  Darien.  It  was  the  see 
of  the  first  bishopric  on  this  continent.  Later  the  dio- 
cesan had  his  cathedral  in  Old  Panama. 

The  Mines  del  Eey,  or  the  mines  of  the  king,  were 
there  in  Darien.  Spanish  officials  controlled  them, 
while  the  work  was  done  by  the  unfortunate  Indians  of 
the  country,  whose  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  Span- 
iards was  marked  by  the  grossest  cruelty — in  fact,  bar- 
barity— until  that  excellent  old  man.  Las  Casas,  inter- 
fered in  their  behalf,  and  secured  at  least  a  few  rights 
for  them. 

A  few  years  ago  a  French  exploring  expedition,  while 
in  Darien,  recovered  sevei'al  breech  loading  cannon; 
they  were  from  the  ruins  of  an  old  fort.  One  of  these 
most  interesting  pieces  was  presented  to  Bishop  Paul, 
and,  thanks  to  his  kindness,  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
giving  it  a  crucial  examination,     I  wrote  a  descriptive 


104  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

article  on  it  that  appeared  in  Panama  in  July,  1884.  *  To 
me  that  old  gun  was  most  interesting.  Finding  a  breech 
loader  there,  a  gun  certainly  over  two  centuries  old, 
greatly  astonished  me.  It  was  of  brass,  a  trifle  over 
four  feet  long.  Back  of  the  muzzle  rings,  on  a  square 
was  a  large  letter  "R"  (Key — King);  its  mouth  was 
three  and  one  half  inches  across,  and  the  trunnions 
were  well  back,  and  so  placed  as  to  give  increased 
strength  to  the  breech  opening  behind  them.  The  gun 
gradually  increased  in  thickness  from  its  muzzle  back- 
wards ;  and  from  the  trunnions  to  the  cascabel,  the  thick- 
ness was  an  inch  and  a  half.  The  breech  block  was  not 
recovered  with  the  gun.  The  breech  was  some  four 
inches  wide  by  six  long,  and  the  sides  had  been  recessed 
to  receive  the  breech  block.  The  whole  had  been  kept 
in  position  by  a  bar  that  passed  through .  slots  or  open- 
ings in  the  sides  of  the  breech.  The  gun  was  a  substan- 
tial piece  of  artillery.  Nearly  three-fourths  of  its  length 
were  beyond  the  trunnions.  It  was  sighted  in  the  usual 
way,  the  foresight  being  just  beyond  the  square  section 
on  which  was  the  letter  "  R."  The  after-sight  was  also 
a  sti'aight  line.  To-day  that  historical  piece,  I  presume, 
is  in  Santa  Fe  de  Bogota,  where  Bishop  Paul,  late  of 
Panama,  presides  over  the  interests  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  of  Colombia,  as  Archbishop. 

In  closing  this  brief  chapter  on  Darien,  I  would  refer 
such  of  my  readers  as  are  familiar  with  Spanish,  to  Seis's 
"Vida  de  Colon,"  a  work  in  three  volumes,  Barcelona, 
Spain.  It  is  a  mine  of  wealth  on  early  day  history, 
comi)iled  from  the  old  writers,  such  as  Las  Casas, 
Navarrette,  "  Varones  Illustres, "  "  Via jesDe  Vespucci," 
and  others.  Seis's  book  is  full  of  illustrations,  and  is  of 
course  trebly  interesting  to  those  who  have  visited  the 
scenes  that  made  the  life  of  Columbus  famous,  in  the 
mother  country,  on  the  Spanish  Main,  and  in  the  West 
Indies. 

Following  the  destruction  of  Old  Panama,  the  gov- 
ernor cast  about  for  a  new  site,  and  modern  Panama 

*  Star  and  Herald,  Panama. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  105 

was  built,  with  whose  history  and  fortifications  the 
reader  is  familiar.  The  modern  city  once  was  attacked 
by  pirates,  but  they  were  defeated.  In  this  attack, 
Captain  Dampier,  a  historic  character,  took  part.  Dam- 
pier  was  an  extraordinary  man  and  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  navigation  and  astronomy,  as  it  was 
understood  in  his  time.  I  may  state  that  his  surveys  of 
the  Gulf  of  Panama,  until  a  few  years  ago,  Avere  the  best 
extant.  Some  surveys  were  made  of  the  gulf  while  I 
was  a  resident  of  Panama,  and  they  confirmed  Dam- 
pier's  early  work  detail  for  detail.  Dampier  was  not  of 
the  blood-thirsty  type  of  Morgan's  crew,  he  was  rather 
inclined  to  be  a  gentleman  privateer ;  but  it  is  quite  true 
when  one  of  his  schemes  failed,  he  joined  the  buccaneers 
in  an  expedition  directed  against  the  Carib  section  of 
the  Spanish  Main.  In  the  "  Lives  and  Voyages  of  Drake 
and  Cavendish,"  p.  325,  is  the  following:  "In  the 
Gazette  for  the  18th  of  April,  1703,  it  is  stated  that 
Captain  Dampier,  presented  by  His  Eoyal  Highness, 
the  Lord  High  Admiral,  had  the  honor  of  kissing  her 
Majesty's  (Queen  Anne's)  hand,  before  departing  on  a 
new  voyage  to  the  West  Indies. " 

From  the  great  mass  of  favorable  testimony  regarding 
Dampier  I  have  taken  the  following : 

' '  By  French  and  Dutch  navigators  and  men  of  science 
he  has  been  uniformly  regarded  with  the  warmest 
admiration,  as  a  man  to  whose  professional  eminence  his 
own  country  has  scarce  done  justice.  They  delight  to 
style  him  'the  eminent,'  'the  skilful,'  '  the  exact,'  'the 
incomprehensible,'  Dampier.  Humboldt  has  borne  tes- 
timony to  his  merits,  placing  the  buccaneer  seaman 
before  those  men  of  science,  who  afterwards  went  over 
the  same  ground;  Maltebrun  terms  him  'the  learned 
Dampier,'  and  the  author  of  the  '  Voyage  to  Australia,' 
inquires,  '  Mais  ou  trouve-t-on  des  navigateurs  com- 
parables  a  Dampier  % '  The  acuteness,  accuracy  and 
clearness  of  his  nautical  observations,  of  his  descriptions 
and  general  remarks,  have  made  his  voyages  be  as- 
sumed by  foreign  navigators  as  unerring  guides  and 
authorities  in  all  subsequent  expeditions ;  and  his  rapid- 


106  FIVi:  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

ity  and  power  of  observation  are  fully  as  remarkable  as 
his  accuracy. 

' '  When  and  where  this  remarkable  man  died  no  one 
knows,  but  it  was  his  fate  to  sink  unheeded  among  the 
conflicting  waves  and  tides  of  society,  and  no  memorial 
or  tradition  remains  of  his  death,  in  whose  remarkable 
life  the  adventures  of  Selkirk,  Wafer  and  the  buccaneer 
commanders  of  the  South  Sea  appear  but  as  episodes. 
So  much  for  human  fame." 

Of  Dampier  one  can  read  at  least  with  some  satisfac- 
tion; but  of  that  blood-thirsty  scoundrel,  Morgan,  with 
nothing  but  contempt  and  loathing. 


Canal,  Building,  Cathedral  Plaza,  Panama  City. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

WHALE  FISHING  IN  THE    GULF  OF    PANAMA — WHALEMEN  OFF 
PANAMA — SOMETHING   ABOUT  THEIR  OUTFITS,   ETC. 

For  many  centuries  the  Gulf  of  Panama  has  been 
noted  for  its  fish,  big  and  little,  and  as  stated  in  an 
earlier  chapter,  the  word  Panama,  from  which  the  city- 
is  supposed  to  take  its  name,  means  ' '  abounding  in 
fish."*  Many  whalers  made  the  gulf  every  year  and 
came  to  anchor  off  "  Islas  de  Naos."  They  came  in  there 
for  new  supplies  and  to  discharge  their  cargoes  of  oil  and 
bone.  These  were  forwarded  across  the  Isthmus  by  the 
Panama  railway,  to  be  shipped  by  steamer  to  New 
York.  Sometimes  they  killed  a  few  whales  in  the  gulf. 
I  remember  having  seen  a  vessel  "trying  out  "not  far 
from  the  city.  Nearly  all  the  vessels  in  that  trade  were 
Cape  Cod  or  Nantucket  whalers,  with  mixed  crews  of 
American  and  Cape  Cod  Indians.  I  presume  it  will  be 
safe  to  say  that  the  Indians  are  the  original  Americans. 
I  made  a  number  of  visits  to  the  whalers  in  the  bay, 
largely  in  my  professional  capacity,  and  had  many 
opportunities  given  me  of  inspecting  them,  and  I  found 
much  of  interest. 

The  tonnage  of  the  vessels  making  the  harbor  of  Pan- 
ama is  not  large,  perhaps  an  average  would  be  four  or 
five  hundred  tons.  Many  of  them  were  brig-rigged  and 
some  of  them  were  very  old.  I  remember  one  that  was 
said  to  be  upwards  of  ninety  years  old,  still  good  and 
seaworthy.  The  deck  of  a  whaler  in  port ;  is  best  de- 
scribed by  calling  it  a  deck  of  confusion;  all  sorts  of 
things  seem  to  Utter  it  up.  Abaft  the  foremast  are  the 
''trying  out"  works,  huge  kettles   set  in  brick- work. 

*"  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,"  London. 

107 


108  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

About  the  deck  one  sees  all  sorts  of  appliances  for  the 
fishing.  The  names  of  a  few  I  will  inflict  upon  my 
readers.  There  is  a  boat- waif,  a  flag  for  signalling  ;  a 
boat-hook  of  the  ordinary  type  ;  paddle  with  a  great 
broad  surface,  and  the  boat  sails,  strong  and  compact. 
There  are  buoys  of  various  types,  and  lines  for  them  ; 
chock-pins,  shoi't- warps,  boat-hatchets,  land- warps,  boat- 
grapnels,  fog-horns,  line-tubs,  boat-buckets,  drags,  nip- 
pers, compasses,  anchors,  rowlocks,  hand-lances,  single- 
iiued  harpoons,  toggle  harpoons,  boat-spades,  Greener's 
hai'poon  guns,  bomb-lances,  and  bomb-lance  guns.  The 
harpoon  is  a  sharp  instrument  thrown  by  the  man  in  the 
bows  towards  the  whale.  If  his  aim  has  been  accurate  it 
sinks  deeply  into  the  flesh.  When  the  slightest  strain 
comes  on  the  harpoon  and  its  attached  cords,  the  sharp 
cutting  flue  bends  and  remains  at  a  right  angle  with  the 
harpoon.  This  flvie  resembles  one  side  of  an  old  time 
arrow-head,  it  has  a  sharp  cutting  edge  and  a  sharp 
point  and  a  projection  back  of  its  connection  with  the 
harpoon  :  it  enters  straight  but  when  the  strain  comes  the 
pressure  leaves  it  embedded  in  the  flesh  of  the  animal  at 
a  right  angle.  An  old  time  harpoon  compares  with  one- 
half  of  an  old  time  arrow.  It  has  an  iron  shank,  is 
firmly  fastened  into  a  handle  of  wood,  and  the  latter  is 
attached  to  a  line.  These  are  two  of  the  ordinary  appli- 
ances for  fastening  on  to  the  flesh.  Greener's  harpoon 
gun  looks  like  a  huge  rifle,  and  from  it  is  fired  the  bomb 
lance.  This,  properly  aiined,  gives  the  coup  de  grace  to 
the  whale. 

"The  boat-spade  is  used  for  cutting  the  cords  about 
the  small  of  the  victim,  or  that  portion  of  the  body 
which  connects  with  the  flukes,  crippling  it  and  thereby 
retarding  its  progress  through  the  water.  The  boat 
hatchet  and  knives  are  to  cut  the  line  should  it  get  foul 
and  endanger  the  boat  when  fast.  The  boat- waif  is  a 
small  flag  used  as  a  signal,  or  placed  in  a  dead  whale  to 
indicate  its  whereabouts.  When  struck  the  whale  may 
attempt  to  escape  by  running.  If  so,  every  exertion  is 
made  by  the  boat's  crew  to  haul  up  to  the  animal  so  as 
to  shoot  a  bomb  into  it  or  work  upon  it  with,  a  hand- 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  109 

lance  ;  or  if  the  creature  descends  to  the  depths  below, 
which  is  called  sounding,  every  effort  is  made  to  check 
the  movement  by  holding  on  to  the  line  or  by  slowly 
slacking  it.  In  this  manoeuvre  the  boat  is  occasionally 
hauled  bow  under  water.  Sometimes  all  the  line  is 
taken  out  almost  instantly,  when  it  is  cut  to  prevent  the 
boat  being  taken  down,  and  the  whale  escapes.  At  other 
times  the  animal  will  bring  to,  that  is,  it  will  stop  and 
roll  from  side  to  side  or  thrash  the  water  with  its  pon- 
derous flukes  and  fins,  when  the  boat  may  be  pulled 
within  bomb  shot,  and  the  creature  dispatched  by  one  or 
more  of  its  missiles."  * 

Having  secured  the  whale  he  has  to  be  towed  along- 
side, and  then  commences  the  cutting  up.  All  sorts 
of  ingenious  devices  are  used,  suitable  to  the  end  in 
view.  Having  got  the  blubber  on  board,  the  "trying 
out"  process  is  next  in  order,  and  the  whalebone  is 
secured. 

Sometimes  the  whalers  have  good  luck  and  oftener  bad. 
When  in  luck,  sometimes  180  barrels  of  oil  have  been 
"  tried  out"  and  stored  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  in  a 
few  weeks  many  an  empty  ship  has  been  filled  or  has  se- 
cured a  good  catch. 

There  is  considerable  interesting  information  on  the 
subject  of  whale  fishery  in  the  authority  that  I  have 
cited.  The  American  whale  fishery  is  an  exceedingly  old 
institution  and  dates  back  to  1614.  According  to  Capt. 
John  Smith,  the  enterprise  was  prosecuted  by  the  col- 
onists along  the  New  England  coast  prior  to  that  date, 
and  it  was  among  the  first  pursuits  of  the  colonial  inhab- 
itants of  New  York  and  Delaware.  * 

The  right  of  whale  fishing  was  guaranteed  by  Royal 
Charter  in  1629  to  the  proprietors  of  Massachusetts,  as 
being  within  their  waters.*  As  early  as  1700  they  began 
to  fit  out  vessels  in  Cape  Cod  and  Nantucket  ;  that  being 
the  home  of  the  fishery.    Many  of  the  vessels  making  the 


*  "  The  Marine  Mammals  of  the  Northwestern  Coast  of  North  Amer- 
ica, 1874  " ;  San  Francisco, 
t  Annals  of  Salem.  |  Ibidem. 


110  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

Gulf  of  Panama,  have  done  their  fishing  in  the  Japan 
Sea  while  others  have  been  away  up  in  the  Arctic.  The 
huge  casks  of  oil  are  discharged  at  Panama,  the  vessel 
takes  in  a  new  supply  of  stores  and  clears  once  more. 
At  times  during  their  stay  at  Panama,  yellow  fever  gets 
into  them,  and  it  was  from  this  that  I  became  acquainted 
with  the  whalers. 

The  cockroaches  on  those  boats  a,re  something  enor- 
mous7 1  have"  seen  them  arTmcE  and  an  iiichan3~aTialf 
long,  and  have  been  told  by  men  how  theie'pests  botEer 
'flieni  at  night,  by  biting  under  tlie^adigL^jtheir^jtoes, 
between  the  nail  andthe"qurcE7~  There  is  a  fact  in  con- 
nection with  cockroaches  that  I  will  take  the  liberty  of 
mentioning  at  this  point.  A  cockroach  in  scientific 
phrase,  I  believe,  is  the  Blotta  indica.  In  the  East  In- 
dies he  is  said  to  be  a  small  insect,  but  he,  in  common 
with  many  others,  thrives  better  abroad  than  at  home. 
In  the  tropics  you  will  find  him  an  inch  and  an  inch  and 
a  half  long,  armed  with  a  good  strong  pair  of  wings,  with 
which  he  will  fly  into  your  quarters  at  night  attracted 
by  the  light,  and  there  make  himself  thoroughly  at  home. 
I  have  seen  some  large  ones,  two  inches  long,  and  on  one 
occasion  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  find  one  that  was 
pure  white.  I  sent  it  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Lock- 
wood  as  a  curio.  Cockroaches  on  board  of  a  whaler 
within  the  tropics,  where  there  is  so  much  grease  and 
everytliing  else,  are  thoroughly  at  home.  What  faces 
them  "is  a  condition,  not  a  theory,"  and  they  know 
what  to  do  with  it. 

Quite  apart  from  the  whales  occasionally  'seen  in  the 
Bay  of  Panama  there  is  another  fish  there  whose  con- 
stant presence  is  a  source  of  considerable  anxiety  to 
sailors  and  others;  I  refer  to  the  shark.  The  Gulf  of 
Panama  is  noted  for  them  and  there  are  a  number  of 
varieties,  among  others,  that  most  voracious  of  fish,  the 
ground  shark.  Sailors  will  tell  you  that  he  will  lay 
down  close  under  the  bottom  of  a  ship  waiting  for  some- 
thing to  tui'n  up,  and  when  it  does  he  is  there.  I  can 
recall  two  accidents  in  the  bay  where  bodies  were  re- 
covered that  had  been  badly  eaten  by  sharks.     One  was 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  m 

a  case  where  a  man  was  drowned  near  the  islands,  and 
his  body  was  badly  mutilated  by  them.  The  other  case 
happened  while  I  was  at  the  Isthmus  in  March  last. 
One  of  the  canal  engineers,  a  prominent  youngColom^ 
bian  named  Jules  Patterson,  tITe'~cfaref^r"sec'tion  at 
the  Boca  works  of  the  canal,  fell  into  the  bay  while 
going  on  board  a  dredge.  His  body  was  not  recovered 
for  a  few  days,  and  was  with  difficulty  identified,  for  it 
had  been  almost  completely  stripped  of  flesh.  A  peculiar 
looking  fish  to  me  is  the  hammerhead  shark.  Twice 
while  on  steamers  in  the  bay  I  have  seen  them,  and 
most  uncanny  looking  animals  they  are.  They  are 
dull  slate  color,  as  seen  from  above,  have  small  eyes, 
set  well  back  in  the  head.  This  fish  has  his  head  flat- 
tened out  at  right  angles  to  the  body,  and  hence  the 
name  "  hammerhead  "  shark.  The  bay  is  so  full  of  these 
creatures  that  swimming  off  Panania_is  ^exceedingly 
dangerous^ 

When  in  the  previous  chapter  where  I  spoke  of  the 
British  ship  Straun  in  the  doldrums,  I  referred  to  the 
sailors  having  caught  and  tortured  sharks.  The  sailors 
of  all  nations  are  the  sworn  enemies  of  the  shark,  and 
they  torture  them  in  many  cruel  ways,  forgetting  that 
the  animal  is  no  more  responsible  for  its  existence  than 
they  are  for  their  own.  The  process  of  crucifying  a 
shark  is  as  follows:  the  animal  is  hooked,  if  a  small 
one,  and  drawn  on  deck.  While  care  is  taken  to  see  that 
he  cannot  use  his  terrible  mouth  for  biting,  he  is  laid 
down  on  boards  and  his  fins  are  securely  nailed  thereto 
in  such  a  way  that  he  cannot  use  them.  The  tail  is.then 
cut  close  off,  and  the  unfortunate  animal  is  thrown  over- 
board. He  cannot  swim,  and  he  cannot  steer  himself. 
He  is  helpless ;  and  the  other  members  of  his  own  family 
promptly  attack  and  devour  him.  This  process  of  fish- 
ing for  sharks  is  a  very  common  pastime  with  sailors. 
A  huge  hook  is  used,  baited  with  a  piece  of  pork  that 
may  weigh  two  or  three  pounds.  It  is  fastened  to  a 
very  strong  piece  of  wire  or  a  light  piece  of  chain,  the 
latter  secured  to  a  fairly  strong  line  and  dropped  over- 
board.    Once  while  on  the  Pacific  mail  steamer  City  of 


112  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

Panama,  off  the  west  coast  of  Mexico,  the  sailors  hooked 
a  shark.  He  was  an  enormous  fellow.  They  hauled 
him  up  to  the  side.  His  length  from  the  tip  of  his  nose 
to  the  end  of  his  tail  was  nine  feet.  The  hook  had  lodged 
in  the  back  part  of  his  throat.  In  coming  up  his  head 
came  in  contact  with  the  stout  red  pine  rail  of  the  ship, 
and  his  mouth  closed  on  it  like  a  vise.  You  could  hear 
his  teeth  crunching  into  it.  I  was  on  the  upper  deck  and 
by  looking  over  could  see  down  his  throat,  the  lining  of 
which  was  a  pearly  white,  and  in  the  gums  were  the 
terrible  rows  of  saw-like  teeth.  The  majority  of  the 
crew  on  that  vessel  were  natives  of  the  coast;  and 
nothing  could  keep  them  from  their  cruel  sport.  They 
passed  a  sling  around  his  fins  and  tried  to  detach 
the  hook  by  cutting  it  out,  taking  remarkably  good 
care  to  keep  their  hands  out  of  his  mouth.  At  last 
they  cut  through  outside  and  cleared  it.  They  then 
gouged  the  unfortunate  animal's  eyes  out.  That  done 
the  unfortunate  fish  was  lowered  into  the  water,  and 
despite  the  fact  that  he  had  been  out  of  it  perhaps  as 
much  as  fifteen  minutes,  he  commenced  swimming 
about  vigorously.  He  went  down,  struck  against  the 
ship's  side,  came  to  the  surface  and  disappeared.  No 
doubt  below  he  fell  a  prey  to  the  members  of  his  own 
family. 

Passing  from  great  fish  to  little  ones,  the  only  poison- 
ous fish,  properly  so  called,  in  the  Pacific,  was  one  that 
was  discovered~by  Capt.  John  M.  Dow,  of  Panama,  a 
gentleman  whose  name  is  well  known  in  scientific  cir- 
cles the  world  over.  This  fish  buries  his  body  in  the 
sand ;  and  as  his  eyes  project  far  beyond  the  body  he 
watches  for  his  prey.  Another  most  interesting  small 
fish  is  the  Anableps  Doun'i,  also  discovered  by  Captain 
Dow  on  the  coast  of  Central  America.  I  had  heard  about 
it  and  I  had  read  about  it,  and  one  day  while  wander- 
ing along  the  coast  near  Champerico,  in  Guatemala,  I 
turned  inland  and  looked  at  some  lagoons.  While  ex- 
amining them  and  their  formation  I  noticed  a  number 
of  little  things  moving  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  At 
first  I  paid  no  attention  to  them ;  but  I  noticed  that  they 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  113 

were  in  pairs,  and  that  they  moved  about  with  great 
regularity.  This  at  once  attracted  my  attention,  and  I 
stole  quietly  forward  to  have  a  look  at  them,  and  to  my 
astonishment  found  they  were  fish,  with  their  eyes  out 
of  water.  Then  it  flashed  upon  me  that  I  had  come 
across  some  of  the  captain's  friends.  The  Anableps 
Doivii  is  an  exceedmgly  interesting  fish.  He  is  called 
four-eyed,  as  the  upper  half  of  his  eyes  have  much  in 
common  with  the  human  eye ;  that  is,  he  can  see  with  it 
through  the  air  or^space.  The  lower  half  is  a  fish's  eye, 
properly  so  called,  and  the  anatomical  make-up  differs 
somewhat  from  the  other.  While  sailing  along  grace- 
fully with  all  their  eyes  on  business,  they  can  look  along 
the  surface  of  the  water  and  down  below  at  the  same 
time.  Several  times  I  went  to  that  point  to  watch  their 
movements ;  it  seemed  so  strange  just  to  see  two  little 
black  balls  moving  about.  The  science  of  Ichthyology 
has  been  greatly  indebted  to  Captain  Dow  for  many 
years  of  close  research ;  and  his  name  will  go  down  to 
posterity  on  the  backs  of  many  fishes.  Nor  have  his 
efforts  been  solely  confined  to  that  branch  of  natural 
science.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  orchids  found  in  the 
mountains  of  Costa  Rica  is  named  for  Captain  Dow. 
It  is  called  Cattelaya  Doimana  and  it  is  described  as 
the  queen  of  the  orchid  family.  It  is  a  pure  white,  and 
is  found  only  in  a  given  section  of  those  mountains. 
One  superb  mass  of  these  orchids  that  was  sent  to  a 
London  dealer,  sold  for  the  handsome  sum  of  £1,000 
sterling. 

I  trust  to  be  pardoned  if  I  relate  an  o'er  true  tale 
about  the  captain  in  the  days  when  he  was  busy  dredg- 
ing for  specimens  of  marine  life.  It  would  seem  that 
on  one  occasion  while  at  anchor  awaiting  cargo  he  had 
spent  a  whole  day  dredging.  The  contents  of  his 
dredges  had  been  put  in  two  buckets  on  the  upper  deck, 
prior  to  scientific  investigation  and  classification.  The 
story  runs  that  while  Captain  Dow  was  at  dinner  a 
seaman  came  along  and  thinking  that  some  careless 
fellow  had  left  a  couple  of  buckets  of  water  there,  and 
knowing  the  captain's  love  of  discipline,  promptly 
8 


114  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

emptied  the  two  buckets  overboard.  The  chief  officer 
discovered  the  error  and  sent  the  man  below,  otherwise 
there  might  have  been  an  investigation  that  would  have 
had  a  most  unsatisfactory  scientific  result  as  far  as  the 
sailor  was  concerned. 


Ikish  Rp:sidences,  Panama  Cemetery. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  SEASONS  ON  THE  ISTHMUS  —  TEKKIFIC  THUNDER  AND 
LIGHTNING — DEY  SEASON  WEATHER — MOONLIGHT  AND 
STARSHINE — THE  EFFECTS  OF  A  STORM  ON  A  CANAL  EM- 
PL0y6 — EARLY  MORNING  IN  THE  DRY  AND  WET  SEASONS 
— ITALIAN  SKIES. 

The  seasons  of  the  Isthmus  are  two  in  number,  the 
wet  extending  from  about  the  15th  of  April  to  the  15th  of 
December.  The  amount  of  rain  that  falls  is  astonishing  ; 
it  has  been  given  as  128  inches  per  annum.  This,  when 
compared  with  the  small  rainfall  in  Egypt  of  nine 
inches,  where  M.  de  Lesseps  built  his  ditch  through  the 
sands  of  Suez,  is  suggestive. 

When  the  rains  come  in  early  and  regularly,  it  means  a 
fairly  healthy  wet  season,  that  is,  of  course,  for  the  Isth- 
mus. When  the  rains  are  irregular  or  late,  it  means  a 
sickly  season,  and  in  the  hot  days  between  rains,  yellow 
fever  develops  case  after  case.  Then  the  rains  come  on, 
and  there  is  a  marked  diminution  in  the  number  of 
cases.  Again,  after  hot  sunny  days  without  rain,  a  new 
crop  of  yellow  fever  cases  results.  During  the  rains  there 
are  many  Btorms  of  thunder  and  liglitning.  Some  of 
these  storms  within  the  tropics  are  simply  awful.  Dur- 
ing one  particularly  bad  storm  lightning  was  reported 
to  have  struck  within  the  city  five  times  and  the  crashes 
of  thunder  were  deafening.  I  have  seen  that  metallic 
appearance  of  the  atmosphere,  due  to  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  lightning ;  and  following  a  severe  storm,  have 
noticed  the  highly  ozonized  condition  of  the  air,  due  of 
course  to  the  electric  currents.  It  was  so  noticeable  as 
to  be  appreciable  to  the  senses. 

Following  the  advent  of  the  canal  men  to  the  Isthmus 
on  the  28th  of  February,  1881,  they  had  their  temporary 

115 


116  FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA. 

offices  in  a  huge  building  facing  the  sea.  It  was  near 
the  old  Aduana,  or  Custom  House.  Among  the  staff  was 
an  awfully  jolly  Frenchman,  who  was  the  farceur,  or 
joker  of  the  office.  During  one  of  these  storms  the  light- 
ning struck  back  of  the  building,  and  nearly  opposite 
a  window  where  he  sat  at  his  desk,  while  following  it 
there  was  a  terrific  crash  of  thunder.  A  nvmiber  of  his 
fellow  clerks  rushed  to  that  side  of  the  building,  think- 
ing that  it  had  struck  near  there,  when  their  compatriot, 
the  farceur,  was  found  creeping  on  all  fours  towards 
the  door  or  hallway.  The  lightning  had  struck  within 
150  feet  of  the  building,  and  some  of  it  had  been  playing 
over  an  iron  fence  near  their  office.  It  seems  that  he  fell 
off  his  stool  in  a  dazed  condition,  and  commenced  to 
creep  off.  That  storm  utterly  ruined  him  as  a  joker, 
for  his  dignity  was  gone.  While  it  is  all  very  well  to 
laugh  at  these  things  afterwards,  at  the  time  they  are 
awful  enough.  Of  course  people  are  never  afraid  under 
such  circumstances,  but  they  do  become  intensely  so- 
ciable and  gregarious. 

That  storm  developed  another  remarkable  fact.  A 
resident  in  that  part  of  the  city  requested  permission 
from  the  city  authorities  to  put  up  a  lightning  rod.  The 
matter  was  duly  submitted  to  the  Alcalde  and  council. 
They  refused,  stating  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  place 
a  lightning  rod  there,  as  it  certainly  would  attract  the 
lightning.  This  is  an  absolute  fact.  There  are  no  associ- 
ations in  that  part  of  the  world  for  the  ' '  Advancement 
of  Science, "  or,  for  the  matter  of  that,  for  the  advance- 
ment of  anything  else. 

The  rain  often  seems  to  fall  in  solid  sheets  of  water, 
the  streets  being  flooded  from  curb  to  curb.  Such 
storms  clear  away  as  rapidly  as  they  come  up,  when  the 
sun  will  light  up  the  green  and  temporarily  clean  streets 
of  Panama.  Nearly  eight  months  of  the  year  are  rainy 
months.  Of  course  it  doesn't  rain  all  the  time,  but 
heavy  rains  may  come  on  at  any  moment,  and  during 
these  months  all  out-of-door  work  must  temporarily 
cease.  With  the  deep  cuts  on  the  canal  they  play  sad 
havoc,  as  an  immense  amount  of  earth  that  has  been 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  117 

thrown  out  naturally  washes  right  back  into  the  cut. 
The  canal  company  modestly  estimate  this  at  five  per 
cent.  Following  one  of  these  storms  a  deep  cut  on  the 
Colon  side  of  the  divide  was  filled,  covering  the  machin- 
ery and  all.  The  long  wet  season  on  the  Isthmus  has 
been  a  most  serious  drawback  to  canal  construction,  but, 
as  all  know  who  are  familiar  with  the  early  history  of 
the  Panama  Canal,  this  practically  was  entered  upon 
without  any  previous  knowledge  whatever,  further  than 
that  there  was  an  Isthmus  to  divide  to  reflect  glory  upon 
France  and  give  unlimited  dividends  to  bondholders. 
But  of  the  Panama  Canal  more  anon. 

The  dry  season  begins  about  December  15.  By  many 
it  is  considered  the  pleasantest  season  of  the  year ;  and 
it  is  the  so-called  healthy  season.  The  majority  of  things 
are  comparative  in  this  world,  as  we  know,  and,  as  a 
witty  actor  in  ' '  Nadjy  "  has  said,  ' '  Everything  depends 
upon  something  else."  It  seems  to  be  that  way  on  the 
Isthmus.  It  will  be  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  neat  di- 
vision of  the  seasons  by  the  Dean  of  the  Medical  Fac- 
ulty at  Panama.  He  said  in  the  wet  season  people  died 
of  yellow  fever  in  four  or  five  days,  while  during  the  dry, 
or  so-called  healthy  season,  they  died  in  from  twenty-four 
to  thirty-six  hours  of  pernicious  fever.  If  strangers  do 
not  recollect  this,  the  seasons  will. 

The  dry  season  at  Panama  is  noted  for  cloudless  blue 
skies — Italian  skies, — and  the  grandest  of  tropical  moon- 
light. During  this  period  the  starshine  is  grand,  and 
the  stars  can  be  seen  almost  down  to  the  horizon, — a  fact 
noted  by  the  early  Spanish  discoverers  and  chronicled  by 
them  in  their  many  writings.  *  In  my  wanderings  I  never 
have  found  anything  to  compare  with  the  moonlight 
of  the  dry  season  there.  Reading  large  type  in  the  open 
was  possible. 

What  astonishes  a  stranger  is  that  the  Colombians  do 
not  take  a  great  deal  of  out-door  exercise.  The  women 
of  the  upper  class  are  great  stay-at-homes,  and  are 
almost  perpetually  in  doors. 

*  "  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus." 


118  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

The  early  morning  during  the  dry  season  is  very 
pleasant  for  picnics,  and  for  hunting  parties.  Owing  to 
the  excessive  humidity  there,  the  forests  and  hills  are 
green  all  the  year  round— but  greenest  of  course  during 
the  "wet  season.  Early  morning  during  a  clear  day  in 
the  wet  season  is  particularly  enjoyable.  When  the  sun 
rises  and  the  quaint  old  city  of  Panama  is  seen  from  the 
sea,  it's  background  lights  up  and  forms  a  most  effective 
picture. 

It  almost  seems  as  if  Nature  had  provided  herself  with 
lightning  rods  in  the  palm  trees.  These  large  trees  cer- 
tainly seem  to  attract  the  electric  fluid.  In  any  locality 
where  palms  abound,  particularly  the  lofty  trees,  one 
notes  many  trunks  without  a  single  branch  above. 
When  lightning  strikes  one  of  these  magnificent  trees 
the  foliage  falls  away,  and  what  was  a  most  graceful 
tree  becomes  a  mere  whitish  trunk.  I  have  made  care- 
ful inquiry  about  this  in  various  places,  and  have  had 
the  fact  confirmed  repeatedly. 

In  a  country  like  that,  where  all  is  perpetual  sunmier, 
the  average  temperature  about  eighty,  and  the  average 
humidity  nearly  as  great,  vegetation  is  of  very  rapid 
growth;  and,  apropos  of  humidity,  there  are  places  on 
the  upper  levels  of  the  Isthmus  where  it  nightly  is  100°, 
the  point  of  saturation.  But  these  conditions  make  veg- 
etable decomposition  as  rapid  as  the  growth.  The  result 
of  the  -whole  is  the  creatJ.on  ^  an_  jntense  misasmatic  S/<l 
poison.  People  living  on  the  Isthmus  are  all  malarious, 
either  in  one  foi2n_or_the  other,  and  it  is  Impossible  to 
avojd^his.  It  is  true  that  a  few  escape  malaria  while 
resident  there,  but  they  no  sooner  get  into  temperate  cli- 
mates than  it  develops.  The  sallow  faces  of  a  great 
many  tell  of  paludal  poison.  My  friend  Dr.  L.  Gu-erd, 
late  Chief  Surgeon  of  the  canal  company,  instituted  a 
series  of  most  interesting  experiments.  He  examined 
the  blood  of  new-comers — canal  men — and  found  it  in  a 
perfectly  normal  condition.  At  the  end  of  a  month  he 
examined  it  again,  when  he  jj-)vnriablv  found  the  mala- 
rial  bacillus.  He  was  aj^rofound  microscopist,  and  his 
work~in  connection  with  yellow  fever  was  most  credit- 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  119 

able.*  Regarding  the  latter  he  made  a  culture  of  its  X 
specific  poison,  or  micro-organism,  if  you  will,  and  ^ 
inoculated  himself,  having  a  mild  form  of  the  disease. 
There  is  another  factor  that  has  a  bearing  on  this  sub- 
ject of  malaria  on  the  Isthmus.  It  is  the  admixture  of 
salt  and  fresh  water  in  the  lagoons  and  rivers  in  addi- 
tion to  the  vegetable  decomposition  already  referred  to. 
This  admixture  of  water  is  considered  to  be  of  great 
importance  in  creating  intense  forms  of  malarial  poison, 
particularly  on  tidal  coasts  like  that  of  the  Pacific. t 

The  winds  have  a  marked  influence  on  disease,  both  at 
Panama  and  at  Colon.  Sometimes  one  side  of  the  Isth- 
mus will  be  fairly  healthy,  while  the  other  has  a  lot  of 
yellow  fever;  and  then  the  converse  obtains.  South 
winds  at  Panama  were  considered  by  the  natives  as 
being  unhealthy.  The  canal  company  have  built  houses 
above  the  malarial  belt  so  called,  where  their  workmen 
are  safe ;  but  where  the  malarial  belt  begins  and  ends, 
"  is  one  of  those  things  that  no  fellow  can  understand." 

*  "  Paludism,"  Dr.  Girerd,  Paris,  1884. 
t  "  Le  Fievre  Jaune  " ;  Bellot,  Havana. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

VITAL  STATISTICS — CEMETERIES — MODES  OF  BURIAL  AND 
UNBURIAL — THE  ISTHMUS  CONSIDERED  AS  A  DISEASE 
PRODUCING   AND   DISTRIBUTING  CENTRE. 

By  vital  statistics  one  understands  reliable  figures  on 
the  birth  and  death  rates.  Such  are  not  obtainable  on 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  There  is  a  form  of  registration 
regarding  births,  which  is  sometimes  published,  and  it 
goes  to  show  that  among  the  lower  classes — that  of  the 
Juan  and  Maria  type — from  sixty  to  seventy  per  cent  of 
the  births  are  illegitimate.  Absolutely  accurate  returns 
regarding  the  burials  are  difficult  to  obtain,  as  the  great 
bulk  go  into  the  Colombian  or  Roman  Catholic  ceme- 
teries. The  foreign  cemetery  receives  both  Protestant  and 
Roman  Catholic.  The  Jews  have  a  walled-in  inclosure 
of  their  own,  which  is  the  best  kept  of  all  those  on  the 
Isthmus.  The  Chinese  have  one,  beyond  the  Colombian, 
on  the  right  of  the  road  going  towards  the  Boca. 

The  formalities  attending  the  opening  of  cemeteries  on 
the  Isthmus  are  somewhat  peculiar.  Two  I  recall  per- 
fectly. When  the  Chinese  cemetery  was  opened  the 
leading  Chinamen  invited  a  lot  of  the  government  offi- 
cials and  citizens.  I  was  honored  with  an  invitation, 
and  went  out  to  the  new  burial  ground.  It  was  a  bright 
clear  day  and  there  was  a  lot  of  ceremonial  and  beating 
of  tom-toms  for  music  within  the  inclosure.  A  roasted 
pig  was  exposed  with  other  things,  for  the  refreshment 
of  the  Chinamen  who  had  got  through  with  their  busi- 
ness on  the  Isthmus  and  were  supposed  to  be  in  the 
"  sweet-by-and-bye. "  Following  that  the  guests  were 
driven  into  the  city  to  a  sumptuous  entertainment. 
Between  every  two  plates  there  was  a  bottle  of  cham- 
pagne, and  other  wines  were  supplied  as  well.  This 
120 


BoYEDAS,  Panama  Cemetery.     Natiye  Girl  in  Pollera. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  121 

opening  of  the  cemetery  was  somewhat  new  to  me  as  it 
was  the  first  one  that  I  had  seen.  Medical  men  are 
generally  considered  as  being  better  at  filling  them. 
Apropos  of  that  roasted  pig,  it  was  an  uncommonly 
toothsome  looking  article.  It  was  left  out  in  the  newly 
consecrated  cemetery  for  a  time  only,  when  it  was 
brought  into  the  city.  According  to  the  custom  of  the 
Chinese  these  things  are  left  to  the  departed,  and  if  they 
fail  to  take  advantage  of  their  opportunities  within 
four  and  twenty  hours,  the  responsibilities  of  the  living 
are  at  an  end,  and  what  was  put  there  for  the  special 
delectation  of  John  Chinaman  "as  was,"  is  considerately 
partaken  of  by  John  Chinaman  "as  is."  There  is  a 
clearness  of  reasoning  about  this  Confucian  theory  that 
is  very  pleasing. 

While  I  was  on  the  Isthmus  the  new  government 
cemetery  was  opened  with  great  formality.  From  my 
knowledge  of  these  places  in  the  past,  I  inferred,  that 
apart  from  consecrating  the  ground,  nothing  further 
was  necessary,  but  some  of  my  old  time  beliefs  have 
been  sadly  upset  by  travel,  and  by  measuring  what  little 
I  knew  by  the  great  unknown.  Late  in  July,  1884,  a 
new  cemetery  with  bovedas  was  opened,  and  the  cere- 
moiiy  attaching  to  it  threw  the  opening  of  the  Chi- 
nese ground  into  the  shade.  This  cemetery  not  only 
was  consecrated,  but  there  was  a  military  guard  present 
and  a  band  of  music,  and  no  end  of  speeches  were  made. 
In  fact,  the  whole  thing  took  on  a  joyousness  that  was 
absolutely  astonishing  to  a  gringo,  or  foreigner.  Im- 
portant government  fuctionaries  were  present,  consular 
dignities  were  invited,  and,  in  short,  the  city  took  on  a 
holiday  appearance.  The  enthusiasm  regarding  that 
new  cemetery  was  something  astonishing,  and  the  only 
thing  that  surprised  me  was,  that  some  individual  did 
not  promptly  step  to  the  front  to  contend  for  the  honor 
of  being  the  first  buried.  Between  the  opening,  in  July, 
1884,  and  the  12th  of  April,  1886,  when  I  made  a  special 
visit  to  the  Isthmus,  that  cemetery  had  received  3884 
bodies  for  burial  in  the  ground,  and  several  hundred  had 
been  placed  in  the  stone  niches,  or  bovedas.    Not  only  had 


122  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

the  new  cemetery  been  filled,  but  in  a  section  of  ground 
back  of  the  cemetery,  in  what  was  part  of  a  large  field, 
there  were  some  dozens  of  graves.  The  latter  had  been 
opened  without  any  brass  bands  or  government  speeches, 
or  any  attendance  of  the  consular  corps. 

The  old  cemetery  was  on  the  left.  It  was  a  small 
place  of  about  three-fourths  of  an  acre,  and  it  received 
all  the  poorer  classes  and  patients  from  the  Charity  and 
Military  Hospital  and  the  Canal  hospitals.  Owing  to  its 
small  size  it  was  dug  up  year  after  year;  bones  and 
skulls,  fragments  of  coffins,  clothing  and  all  sorts  of 
things  wei-e  turned  out.  The  liberation  of  untold  mill- 
ions of  disease  germs  in  that  country,  will  make  clear 
to  thinking  people  why  the  Isthmus  is  so  unhealthy. 
From  time  immemorial  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  has  been 
recognized  as  one  of  the  plague  spots  of  the  world.  It 
can  vie  with  the  west  coast  of  Africa  in  pestilential  dis- 
ease. But  for  the  fact  that  it  is  on  one  of  the  world's 
greatest  highways  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific, 
the  systematic  unburial  of  the  dead,  under  the  direct 
sanction  of  the  federal  government  (they  do  nothing  to 
check  it  while  knowing  all  about  it),  and  the  consequent 
distribution  of  the  germs  of  yellow  fever  and  small-pox, 
would  be  of  little  moment.  I  say  "would  be.  of  little 
moment,"  for  if  the  people  of  those  republics  are  willing 
to  commit  suicide  in  that  form,  so  be  it.  But,  owing  to 
the  importance  of  the  Isthmus,  called  by  Paterson  the 
"  Gate  to  the  Pacific  and  the  Key  to  the  Universe,"  these 
insane  and  unsanitary  procedures  should  be  stopped. 
The  practice  that  I  have  referred  to  regarding  that  old 
cemetery  and  the  unburial  of  the  dead  came  to  an  end 
for  a  time.  Together  with  the  late  Mr.  John  Stiven,  of 
Panama,  I  denounced  the  system  through  the  columns 
of  the  Star  and  Herald,  of  Panama,  and  La  Estrella  de 
Panama.  So  vigorous  was  our  language  that  it  led  to 
the  construction  of  the  new  cemetery,  and  people  inter- 
ested in  the  matter  of  public  health,  hoped  that  that 
most  pernicious  of  practices  had  ceased ;  unfortunately 
such  was  not  the  case.  On  the  same  side  of  the  road 
adjoining  the  cemeteiy  just  mentioned,  was  The  Ceme- 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  123 

tezy,  a  large  quadrangle  of  bovedas.  Facing  the  high- 
way was  a  stone  fence  and  an  old  time  arcbed  gateway 
of  stone.  Entering  it,  one  had  a  full  view  of  what  was 
within.  It  was  a  quadrangle  of  niches  or  bovedas. 
Picture  to  yourself  four  sides  of  a  sqviare  having  three 
tiers  of  openings  in  them,  one  below,  one  between,  and 
one  on  top,  each  opening  being  large  enough  to  receive 
the  coffin  of  an  adult,  and  the  whole  whitewashed  and 
backed  by  a  substantial  stone  wall.  Within  the  enclos- 
ure were  several  monuments  to  some  people  who  had 
been  buried  permanently.  I  used  the  word  "perma- 
nently "  advisedly.  The  exact  custom  which  obtains 
there  is  as  follows.  These  niches  are  rented  for  the 
space  of  ei.ghteen  monjKs.^  TKe~coffin  is  placed  within, 
and  the  end  is  closed  either  with  brick  work  or  with  a 
marble  slab  having  a  suitable  inscription.  At^thfi_erid 
of  eighteen  months,  failing  a  prompt _£enewal  of  rent, 
tHecoffin  and~^ntents7are  evicted.  The  eviction  is  of 
the  most'thorough  type ;  i^woiild^put  an  Irishman  "to 
the  pin  of  his  collar."  The  individual  holding  the  con- 
cession has  his  men  working  within  the  grounds.  If 
the  rent  has  not  been  renewed;  they  remove  the  little 
marble  slab  or  brickwork  and  the  coffin  is  taken  out  and 
dumped  back  of  the  cemetery.  Such  was  the  custom 
prior  to  our  denunciation  of  that  form  of  unburial  of  the 
dead.  In  the  fall  of  1882  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
special  correspondent  of  the  Brooklyn  Eagle,  who  had 
seen  much  in  many  places  and  under  many  circum- 
stances. I  promised  to  show  him  something  that,  I  took 
the  liberty  of  thinking,  he  had  not  seen  previously.  He 
was  a  pushing,  vigorous  fellow,  and  willing  to  go  any- 
where and  see  anything,  as  long  as  it  gave  him  some 
descriptive  matter  for  his  paper.  I  took  him  back  of 
the  cemetery  now  under  consideration  and  directed  his 
attention  to  seven  and  sixty  coffins,  in  aU  sorts  of  posi- 
tions and  with  all  sorts  of  contents.  My  readers  will  be 
kind  enough  to  remember  that  the  people  who  are  buried 
in  the  bovedas  invariably  belong  to  the  better  classes.  I 
took  him  about  among  the  broken  coffins,  and  the  whole 
coffins,  and  the  skulls,  and  the  bones  and  the  ashes,  and 


124  FIVi:  YEAli8  AT  PANAMA. 

everything  else.  There  they  were,  just  as  they  had  been 
thrown  out.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases  the  lids  of 
the  coffins  were  off,  or  had  been  broken,  and  within 
were  the  restos,  or  remains,  of  former  prominent  citi- 
zens, the  majority  of  whom,  of  course,  were  natives. 
In  one  coffin  were  the  remains  of  a  woman,  and  she 
had  had  a  magnificent  head  of  hair.  I  must  say  that 
the  entertainment  rather  upset  the  Brooklyn  Eagle 
man,  and  he  was  unwilling  to  stay  and  hear  more  about 
it.  The  fact  that  I  had  made  a  good  collection  of  crania 
which  I  had  sent  home  to  Canada,  ceased  to  interest 
him,  and  he  was  very  glad  to  get  away  from  the  place, 
admitting  that  he  never  had  seen  the  Uke. 

I  do  not  wish  my  readers  to  fancy  that  all  are  abso- 
lutely devoid  of  respect  for  the  remains  of  their  friends. 
In  a  few  instances  the  dead  had  been  permanently 
located  in  these  niches ;  in  others  the  bones  had  been 
taken  away  and  placed  in  some  of  the  churches.  It  is 
customary  there,  after  the  eighteen  months  have  ex- 
pired, to  take  the  long  bones  and  the  skull  and  have 
them  buried  in  some  of  the  churches,  either  under  the 
floor  with  a  suitable  slab,  or  built  into  some  wall  or 
column.  In  a  very  few  instances  they  are  buried  in 
small  lots  in  a  suitable  enclosure,  with  a  monument  or 
tombstone  over  them. 

This  is  what  obtained  in  the  native  cemeteries,  and  I 
regret  to  say  obtains  now. 

In  the  Foreign  Cemetery,  in  the  Jewish  Cemetery,  and 
the  Chinese  Cemetery,  there  are  no  unburials  of  this 
revolting  type.  The  only  unburials  there  are,  are  such 
as  obtain  elsewhere  throughout  the  world  when  bodies 
are  sent  home  to  friends.  A  peculiar  thing  regarding 
this  business  is  that  according  to  the  laws  of  Colombia 
nobody  can  be  disinterred  under  twenty-four  months. 
But  the  Concessionaire  is  a  law  unto  himself  and  he 
unburies  at  his  own  sweet  will.  I  can  remember  cases 
where  people  abroad  were  most  anxious  to  have  the 
remains  of  their  relatives  that  had  been  buried  on  the 
Isthmus  sent  to  them,  in  one  instance  to  San  Francisco, 
in  another  to  New  York ;  but  the  law  in  their  cases  was 


FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA.  125 

laiv,  and  the  bodies  could  not  be  removed  until  the 
twenty-four  months  had  expired.  In  the  meanwhile  the 
individual  holding  the  concession  from  the  government 
buried  and  unburied  at  his  pleasure. 

As  already  stated,  it  was  hoped  that  when  the  new 
cemetery  was  opened  the  disgraceful  scenes  of  the  past 
w€»e  over  forever,  but  such  has  not  been  the  case. 
The  present  Concessionaire  is  (or  was)  Senor  Nicanor 
Obarrio,  who  holds  a  direct  concession  from  the  gov- 
ernment, and  he  it  was  that  had  the  new  cemetery 
built  under  that  concession.  As  I  have  already  informed 
my  readers,  it  had  been  more  than  filled  between  the 
dates  given.  While  on  the  Isthmus  during  March,  1888, 
I  went  out  to  see  how  things  were  in  the  new  cemetery, 
and  you  can  fancy  my  astonishment  at  finding  that  all 
the  numbers  on  the  graves  had  been  doubled.  That 
large  plot  had  been  filled  and  over  each  grave  was  a 
simple  wooden  cross,  painted  black.  Above  was  the 
number  of  the  year,  "  1884,"  and  on  the  arm  of  the  cross 
the  number  of  the  grave.  As  I  have  said  all  the  num- 
bers had  been  doubled.  For  instance,  you  would  have, 
say,  "  3640  "  on  the  arm  of  the  cross,  below  that  "  1888" 
and  above  it  in  a  scroll  "1886."  The  wherefore  of  it 
was  as  follows:  In  1886,  3640  was  the  first  occupant, 
but,  as  that  cemetery  had  been  dug  over  from  end 
to  end,  he  had  been  evicted,  and  twice  3640  was  the 
number  of  the  grave  in  1888.  Not  only  were  all  the 
numbers  in  that  main  cemetery  duplicated  but  they 
were  digging  over  the  cemetery  at  the  back. 

I  am  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  this  seems  a  remark- 
able statement,  so  remarkable  indeed  that  when  relating 
it  to  some  new  acquaintances  in  the  British  Islands  of  Trin- 
idad, they  looked  at  me  with  that  polite  incredulity  that 
seemed  to  indicate  that  they  thought  that  much  travel- 
ling had  not  improved  my  veracity;  and  it  was  only 
when  I  produced  some  photographs,  there  and  then, 
showing  the  graves  with  the  double  numbers,  and  the 
digging  up  of  the  old  graves,  that  they  could  believe  me. 
One  of  my  photographs  was  a  revelation  to  them.  In 
digging  up  these  graves  the  diggers  occasionally  came 


lapoini;,  wnai  aoes  aii  rnis 
ts  to  my  mindTif  I  under-  X 
mtter,  ]that  from  this  crim-  ^ 


126  FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA. 

upon  a  coffin  that  was  in  fairly  good  oi-der.  A  number 
of  these  had  been  placed  upright,  leaning  against  the 
back  wall  of  the  cemetery.  These  second-hand  coffins 
were  for  sale  to  any  one  who  wanted  a  luxury  of  that 
kind.  But  for  the  fact  that  I  had  my  photographs  with 
me,  I  feel  confident  that  my  statements  would  not  have 
been  accepted  as  true.  But  there  they  were  ;  there  was 
the  row  of  coffins,  the  double  numbers  on  the  crosses— 
"  1886  "  above  and  '  1888  "  below. 

Now  from  a  sanitary  standpoint,  what  does  all  this 
unburial  result  in  ?  It  results 
stand  anything  about  this  im 
inal  practice  of  liberating  untold  millions  of  germs  of 
disease  the  Isthmus  is  made  a  disease-producing  and 
disease-distributing  centre. 

I  particularly  wish  to  emphasize  this  statement,  and 
shall  do  so  in  this  way.  That  Colombian  cemetery 
receives  nearly  all  of  the  dead  from  the  Canal  Hospitals. 
An  immense  number  of  the  deaths  among  their  men  is 
from  specific  yellow  fever,  properly  so  called.  As  that 
is  a  land  of  perpetual  summer,  perpetual  sunshine,  and 
perpetual  moisture,  these  germs  when  liberated  find  a 
congenial  soil.  As  the  yellow  fever  germ  is  one  that 
flourishes  at  a  temperature  of  seventy-two,  and,  as  the 
average  temperature  is  80°,  it  goes  without  saying  that 
these  germs  never  die  out  there.  Another  fact  in  this 
connection.  Small-pox  never  is  absent  in  those  coun- 
tries. From  time  to  time  there  are  outbreaks,  and  two 
years  ago,  follo"^ing  the  unburial  of  the  dead  in  the  cem- 
etery that  I  am  now  describing,  there  was  one  just 
beyond  the  cemetery  at  La  Boca  de  la  Rio  Grande,  and 
there  were  a  great  many  deaths.  My  readers  must  bear 
in  mind  that  thousands  are  unburied  there  annually  to 
this  very  day  and  this  very  hour. 

While  I  was  at  Panama  a  number  of  foreign  phy- 
sicians tried  to  bring  about  a  different  state  of  affairs. 
We  wrote  letters  to  the  press.  While  the  attempt 
exposed  the  situation  and  its  dangers,  no  good  came  of 
it.  The  series  of  letters  to  which  I  make  reference  was 
published  in  the  Star  and  Herald  by  George  E.  Gas- 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  127 

coigne,  M.D.,  CM.,  M.R.,  C.S.,  England,  Benjamin 
Stamers,  L.  R.  C.  P.  &  S. ,  Edinburgh,  and  the  writer.  As 
I  have  ah'eady  stated,  if  people  wish  to  commit  suicide, 
from  a  practical  standpoint,  let  them  do  it;  but  let 
them  do  it  in  a  way  that  will  not  endanger  others. 

My  readers  will  at  once  appreciate  the  danger  to  all 
countries  doing  business  with  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
or  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  as  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  packages  of  freight  cross  the 
Isthmus  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  and  from 
Atlantic  to  Pacific,  and  are  distributed  in  all  directions, 
even  to  trans-Pacific  ports.  That  these  ^packages  arQ  'Jj 
the  bearers  of  disease  is  well  known.     The  west  coast  of 


the  Kepul&lic  of  Mexico  owes  the  endemic  presence  of 
yellow  fever  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  all  students 
of  that  awful  disease  are  well  aware  that  it  was  by  way 
of  the  Isthmus  that  it  was  distributed  up  and  down  the 
coasts  of  Central  and  South  America,  in  many  of  the 
ports  of  which  it  is  permanently  domiciled.  It  is  quies- 
cent at  times,  if  you  will,  but  when  the  suitable  condi- 
tions obtain,  with  an  unacclimated  population,  it  asserts 
its  sovereignty. 

I  have  shown  how  physicians  vainly  endeavored  to 
bring  about  a  reform.  Certain  it  is  that  nothing  can  be 
expected  of  the  government  of  the  Republic  of  Colombia 
as  at  present  constituted. 

There  is  but  one  way  of  handling  these  things.  It  is 
by  international  pressure.  We  are  all  aware  of  the  fact 
that  when  a  small  power  in  Europe  is  likely  to  disturb 
the  peace,  its  neighbors  say,  "  We  will  have  none  of  it," 
and  that  is  the  end  of  it.  Now  there  is  a  power  control- 
ling one  of  the  world's  greatest  highways,  and  while  it 
absolutely  depends  upon  other  countries  for  its  traffic,  it 
is  a  disease  producer  and  a  disease  distributor. 

To  prevent  the  slightest  mistake  in  connection  with 
this  statement  I  refer  my  readers  to  the  Report  of  the 
board  of  health  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  for  the  year 
1882  and  the  first  six  months  of  1883.  On  pages  239,  240 
and  241  will  be  found  a  long  letter  from  Dr.  Daniel  Qui- 
jano  Wallace,  then  president  of  the  board  of  health  of  the 


ii^Pf 


128  FIVE  YE'AES  IN  PANAMA. 

State  of  Panama.  It  was  in  reply  to  a  letter  from  Dr. 
Joseph  Jones,  then  pi-esident  of  the  board  of  health  of  the 
State  of  Louisiana,  in  which  he  regrets  the  deficient 
organization  of  the  sanitary  service  of  the  State  of  Pan- 
ama. In  the  eighth  paragraph  of  that  long  letter, 
President  Wallace  speaks  as  follows : 

"It  is  sad  to  confess  that  of  the  thirty -three  powers 
represented  at  the  sanitary  conference  in  Washington, 
Colombia  was  the  only  nation  that  had  no  sanitary 
service  properly  organized,  and  that  did  not  officially 
register  and  publish  the  prevailing  diseases,  the  death 
rate  and  information  relative  to  public  health." 

At  the  close  of  paragraph  two  is  the  following : 

"  I  communicate  that  the  actual  sanitary  condition  of 
the  ports  of  Panama  and  Colon  is  in  general  good,  as  at 
present  no  epidemic  disease  reigns,  it  being  well  known 
that  small-pox,  the  yellow  fever  and  the  paludal  fevers, 
in  their  infinite  varieties  and  forms,  never  are  absent 
in  these  intertropical  regions  where  they  are  truly 
endemic." 

"  Comuniqueseles  que  el  estado  sanitario  actual  en  las 
puertos  de  Panama  i  Colon  es  por  lo  jeneral  bueno,  pues 
no  existe  al  presente  epidemia  reinante  ninguna,  siendo 
como  es  conocido  que  la  viruela,  la  fiebre  amarilla  i  las 
fiebres  palustres,  en  sus  infinitas  variedades  i  formas, 
nunca  feltan  en  estas  regiones  intertropicales  en  donde 
son  verdaderamente  endemicas." 

I  give  both  the  original  Spanish,  as  published  in  that 
report,  and  the  English,  that  there  may  be  no  doubt  in 
the  minds  of  my  readers  as  to  the  oft  repeated  statement 
regarding  the  insanitary  condition  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  Dr.  Quijano  Wallace  is  a  Colombian  by  birth, 
a  man  of  excellent  education,  and  we  served  on  the  State 
board  of  health  jointly  for  a  time.  You  will  be  kind 
enough  to  remember  that  a  son  of  Colombia  makes  the 
above  statment.  The  date  of  Dr.  Wallace's  letter  is, 
Panama,  October  13,  1882.* 

*  See  also  Ninth  Biennial  Report  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  of 
California,  page  220,  et  seq. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  129 

Apropos  of  yellow  fever  and  epidemics,  the  following 
statement  will  be  somewhat  interesting : 

' '  In  September,  1884,  the  harbor  of  Colon  was  full  of 
shipping.  The  latter  became  infected ;  the  Effecthia,  a 
brig,  lost  all  her  crew  but  the  cook.  Two  French 
steamers  of  La  Compagnie  Generale  Transatlantique, 
named  the  N.  Bixio,  and  the  Fournel,  lost  twenty 
men.  The^  Royal  Mail  steamers  Lame,  and  Nile,  also 
lost  a  few  between  September  and  January,  1885.  One 
hundred  and  seventy  cases  had  occurred  there,  with  a 
mortality  of  over  two-thirds.  I  saw  the  records  when  in 
Colon,  in  February,  1885.  I  visited  Colon  purposely  to 
see  things  for  myself.  The  English  ship,  the  City  of 
Liverpool,  had  six  cases  on  board.  She  was  at  the  dock, 
and  within  twenty  feet  of  her  stern  was  a  large  pile  of 
rock-ballast  from  Bohio  Soldado,  being  that  sold  by  the 
Panama  Railway  to  all  vessels  requiring  it.  The  Grace 
Bradley,  an  American  three-masted  schooner,  was  in  the 
berth  next  to  the  City  of  Liverpool.  She  had  dis- 
charged her  cargo  of  ice  and  was  taking  in  the  ballast. 
Two  of  her  crew  sickened  with  the  disease  and  died. 
She  sailed  for  a  southern  port.  United  States  of  America, 
with  a  foul  bill  of  health  from  United  States  Consul 
R.  K.  Wright,  Jr. ,  of  Colon.  She  arrived  at  a  Southern 
port  late  in  the  fall,  discharged  the  ballast  on  flat  cars 
that  dumped  it  into  the  sea,  and  proceeded  direct  to 
Philadelphia.  This  infected  ballast  some  day  will  speak 
louder  than  words  to  the  people  of  the  South.  It  comes 
from  an  infected  port.  Ballast  of  this  kind  caused  three 
cases  of  yellow  fever  in  New  Oi-leans,  in  1882.  The 
ballast  was  thrown  on  a  street  there."  * 

I  have  reprinted  the  above  from  one  of  my  articles  on 
yellow  fever ;  my  object  in  doing  so  being  to  illustrate 
the  value  of  some  bills  of  health  issued  to  the  shipping 
by  the  civil  authorities  on  the  Isthmus.  The  Fournel, 
the  vessel  referred  to,  lost  her  captain  and  nine  or  ten 
men.     They  wished  to  clear  her  and  applied  to  a  doctor 

*  Yellow  Fever  in  Vera  Cruz,  and  Colon  in  1882;    "New  Orleans 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,"  1884. 
9 


130  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

in  Colon,  personally  known  to  me,  and  he  issued  a  foul 
bill  of  health.  The  steamship  company  would  not 
accept  it,  but  referred  the  matter  to  the  general  agent  in 
Colon.  He  in  turn  approached  the  government,  the 
then  acting  president  issued  a  clean  bill  of  health, 
and  the  vessel  went  to  sea  from  a  hot-bed  of  the  dis- 
ease. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1884,  the  Canal  Company 
buried  654  officers  and  men.  Perhaps  a  day  may  be 
coming  when  cremation  may  be  introduced  on  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  it  would  be  an  effectual  way  of 
getting  rid  of  such  disease  producing  bodies.  The  dis- 
posal of  the  dead  has  been  attracting  the  attention  of 
scientists  for  some  time  past,  now  that  graveyards  and 
cemeteries  are  recognized  sources  of  disease,  particularly 
within  the  tropics.  In  the  January  number  (1888)  of  the 
"  Nineteenth  Century  "  there  is  a  paper  of  considerable 
value  on  this  very  theme,  by  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  from 
which  I  shall  briefly  quote : 

"  Medical  and  physiological  science  too,  is  daily  diving 
deeper  into  the  cause  and  origin  of  disease,  and  modern 
discoveries  tend  to  show  that  infectious  diseases,  and 
especially  those  which  are  distinguished  as  zymotic,  are 
due  to  minute  organisms,  to  which  the  names  of 
microbes  or  bacteria,  or  the  more  general  term  of  germs, 
have  been  given,  and  which  have  a  force  and  vitality 
capable  of  resisting  many  agencies  destructive  to  ordi- 
nary life  and  even  bidding  defiance,  under  favorable 
circumstances,  to  the  all-conquering  power  of  time 
itself.  It  has  been  clearly  proved  that  these  organisms, 
so  far  from  being  destroyed  or  rendered  harmless  by  the 
burial  of  a  body,  the  life  of  which  has  been  destroyed  by 
them,  flourish  exceedingly  on  the  products  of  decompo- 
sition and  putrefaction,  and  may  at  any  time  be  brought 
to  the  surface  and  again  set  free  on  their  devastating 
course,  by  the  action  of  earthworms  or  by  any  other 
cause  that  may  disturb  the  soil. 

"  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  splenic  fever, 
germs  of  which  will  even  affect  the  grass,  growing  over 
the  buried  bodies  of  cattle  that  have  died  from  it,  and 


FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA.  131 

will  infect  any  living  animal  that  feeds  upon  this  poison- 
ous herbage.  ^Malarious  fevers,  and  esiDecially  Roman 
fever,  so  fatal  in  the  Italian  marshes,  are  well  known  to 
be  due  to  bacteria  which  exist  in  the  very  soil  itself ;  and 
it  is  generally  believed  by  scientific  men  who  have  made 
infectious  diseases  a  study,  that  scarlet  fever,  typhoid 
fever,  small-pox,  diphtheria,  malignant  cholera,  and 
many  kindred  diseases,  are  communicable  from  the  de- 
composing remains  of  persons  who  have  died  of  these 
disorders  and  been  buried  in  the  customary  manner. 

' '  None  can  deny  that  in  a  purely  sanitary  sense,  cre- 
mation offers  the  most  perfect  method  of  disposing  of 
the  dead. 

"  The  objections  to  it,  indeed,  are  of  a  purely  senti- 
mental character  and  will  not  for  a  moment  bear  the 
attack  of  calm  argument,  while  the  religious  objections 
can  only  be  upheld  by  the  narrowest  bigotry  and  most 
stupid  superstition.  /•/<  ^V-v^^.^j  ^'^►^•u..  ../^.i^>  -/"i-u-^r 
~~^n  the  ordinary  method  of  disposing  of  the  dead, 
that  of  burial,  nature  resolves  the  human  body  into  its 
original  element  by  the  slow  decomposition  of  putrefac- 
tion. This  process  is  often  delayed  far  beyond  the 
natural  period,  which  is  itself  long,  by  unwise  and 
morbid  efforts  to  preserve  the  inhumed  body  as  long  as 
possible,  by  encasing  it  in  air  and  water  tight  envelopes 
of  various  substances.  The  Egyptians,  as  we  know, 
carried  this  to  its  extreme  in  the  embalming  of  their  dead 
so  effectually  as  to  preserve  their  withered  human  tene- 
ments for  thousands  of  years.  Surely,  to  a  refined  im- 
agination, the  tedious  process  of  putrefaction  of  a  person 
who  has  been  dear  to  us,  is  far  more  loathsome  and 
abhorrent  than  the  idea  of  a  rapid  decomposition  of  its 
constitutents  by  the  agency  of  fire.  This  decomposition 
is  just  as  natural  as  that  of  putrefaction.  In  both  cases 
the  elements  composing  the  human  body  are  liberated 
and  become  free  to  form  fresh  combinations  in  the  ever 
active  laboratory  of  nature,  but  in  the  one  case,  this 
is  a  process  extending  over  years,  and  in  the  mean  time 
spreading  disease  and  death  among  the  earth's  inhabi- 
tants ;  and  in  the  other,  the  aid  of  science,  the  handmaid 


132  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

of  nature,  enables  us  to  distribute  the  elements  of  the 
poor  human  body,  and  utterly  to  destroy  dangerous 
germs,  in  the  course  of  an  hour's  incineration. 

"  One  very  serious  objection  and  one  worthy  of  every 
consideration  is,  that  the  total  destruction  of  a  human 
body  by  fire,  would  remove  every  trace  of  crime  in  a  case 
of  poisoning,  and  that  the  murderer  would  have  no  dread 
of  the  silent  accusing  witness  that  could  be  called  up  by 
the  chemist's  skill,  to  confront  him  from  the  buried 
body  of  his  victim.  Cases  of  exhumation  of  bodies  for 
chemical  examination  are,  however,  very  rare,  and 
proper  legal  safeguards  and  official  examination  and 
certification  in  cases  of  suspicion,  before  the  body  was 
committed  to  the  furnace,  should  afford  ample  protection 
to  society. 

' '  The  religious  objections,  or  rather  the  objections  based 
upon  religious  grounds,  are  hardly  worth  the  trouble  of 
combating.  No  intelligent  person  can  suppose  for  one 
moment  that  the  intentions  of  the  Almighty  can  be  in 
any  way  obstructed  by  hastening  by  a  few  years  the 
process  of  decomposition. 

"When  it  is  considered  that  the  health  and  happiness 
of  the  living  depend  so  greatly  upon  the  proper  disposal 
of  the  dead,  when  it  is  seen  that,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
all  large  centres  of  population,  the  overcrowded  ceme- 
teries and  graveyards  are  ever  increasing  sources  of  diffi- 
culty and  danger  to  the  community,  and  when  the  edu- 
cation and  intellectual  development  of  the  present  age 
are  so  rapidly  freeing  the  mind  from  superstition  and 
opening  it  to  the  truths  of  science,  few  will  deny  that  the 
advocates  of  the  cremation  of  the  dead  have  both  moral 
and  scientific  truth  on  their  side. 

"  It  will  be  very  long  before  many  centuries  of  custom 
will  give  way  before  scientific  truth,  but  the  day  must 
come  when  mankind  will  be  forced  by  dire  necessity,  to 
resort  to  a  method  of  disposing  of  the  dead,  more  in  ac- 
cordance with  well  ascertained  laws  of  hygiene,  than  the 
present  mode  of  inhumation. " 

That  the  idea  is,  even  now,  making  headway,  is  clear 
from  Sir  Henry  Thompson's  statement  in  his  paper,  that 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PAN^AMA.  138 

in  Italy  alone,  since  1883,  787  bodies  have  been  cremated 
in  different  cities,  while  in  Germany,  in  the  same  period, 
473  bodies  have  been  thus  disposed  of. 

As  an  old  and  earnest  student  of  all  matters  pertaining 
to  public  health,  I  sincerely  trust  that  the  press  of  this 
great  republic  will  take  this  matter  up,  and  keep  on 
agitating,  and  agitating,  Until  the  public  is  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  dangers  constantly  menacing  it  from 
sources  like  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  I  refer  of  course 
to  the  danger  of  yellow  fever  and  small-pox,  but  partic- 
ularly to  yellow  fever  with  reference  to  the  Southern 
United  States.  If  an  argument  were  necessary  to  make 
my  statements  conclusive  and  final,  I  simply  have  to 
point  to  the  epidemic  of  yellow  fever  that  has  been 
sweeping  a  part  of  the  State  of  Florida,  an  epidemic 
whose  history  dates  back  to  Tampa,  and  the  limited 
epidemic  there  last  summer  and  fall.  That  outbreak 
was  traced  to  a  schooner  engaged  in,  smuggling;  and 
previously  thereto  some  filthy  passengers  from  Havana — 
wandering  Turks— had  landed  in  Tampa  before  the 
quarantine  season  began,  and  one  of  them  died  in  Plant 
City.  I  visited  Tampa  in  the  fall  of  last  year,  purposely 
to  study  all  the  conditions  pertaining  to  and  surrounding 
that  epidemic,  and,  thanks  to  my  friends,  Dr.  John  P. 
Wall,  president  of  the  Tampa  board  of  health,  and  Dr. 
Joseph  Y.  Porter,  president  of  the  board  of  health  of 
Key  West,  then  in  charge  of  the  yellow  fever  hospital  in 
Tampa,  I  had  every  facility  given  me  for  seeing  existing 
cases  and  convalescents.  It  was  yellow  fever  properly 
so  called.  Drs.  Wall  and  Porter  had  had  the  courage 
to  pronounce  the  disease  yellow  fever,  and  met  with 
bitter  and  vile  persecution.  It  is  the  usual  thing  that 
obtains  under  such  conditions,  but  when  there  was  a 
grand  explosion  of  the  disease  and  an  epidemic  was 
sweeping  the  city,  the  very  men  who  were  criticising 
them,  fled  the  city  and  left  them  to  fight  the  disease. 
The  feeling  against  Dr.  Wall,  who  is  a  profound  student 
of  yellow  fever  and  who  can  speak  from  the  knowledge 
of  several  epidemics  of  it,  was  most  bitter;  in  fact,  so 
bitter  that  I,  an  outsider  (a  British  subject),  thought  it 


134  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

well  to  write  an  article  which  was  published  in  the 
Times-Union  of  Jacksonville,  of  last  year,  confirniing 
his  views  as  to  its  being  yellow  fever,  and  also  warning 
the  South  against  the  very  condition  which  exists  to- 
day in  Jacksonville.*  The  letter  that  I  refer  to  was 
published  in  the  Times-Union  of  November  30,  1887, 
and  it  closed  as  follows : 

"  Let  the  people  of  this  fair  State  be  true  to  their  best 
interests  and  awake  to  instant  action — in  a  word,  pre- 
pare for  what  assuredly  awaits  them  next  summer." 

I  noticed  the  condition  of  things  there,  and  knowing 
that  Tampa  was  below  the  frost  line  made  the  above 
forecast,  which,  alas!  came  true.  I  take  no  credit  to 
myself  in  this  connection,  further  than  that  I,  in  common 
with  many  men  who  have  given  this  subject  close  thought 
and  study,  know  that  the  disease  not  only  is  essentially 
a  portable  disease,  but  it  is  a  quarantinable  disease,  one 
that  can  be  shut  out  of  towns  and  cities  by  the  exercise 
of  scientific  quarantine  as  it  is  understood  by  sanitarians 
to-day.  I  mean  such  a  quarantine  as  that  perfected  by 
Dr.  Joseph  Holt,  president  of  the  board  of  health  of  the 
State  of  Louisiana.  I  should  like  to  have  laymen  turn 
this  matter  over  in  their  own  minds  and  think  it  out, 
and  try  to  bring  about  a  change.  Any  student  of  yellow 
fever  will  tell  you  that  its  introduction  to-day  is  a  dis- 
grace to  our  modern  civilization.  Science  teaches  that 
it  can  be  shut  out.  If  so,  why  admit  it,  to  sweep  away 
hundreds,  and,  in  a  State  like  Florida,  inflict  damage  that 
cannot  be  counted  in  money,  when  it  may  be  the  begin- 
ning of  an  epidemic  in  the  South  ? 

In  the  New  York  Herald  of  September  28,  1888,  there 
was  a  telegram  from  Washington,  dated  the  previous 
day  and  reading  as  follows : 

"Senator  Call  introduced  a  joint  resolution  in  the 
Senate  to-day  authorizing  the  President  to  call  upon  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  to  convene  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton at  as  early  a  day  as  practicable,  and  that  the  Presi- 
dent shall  select  and  request  the  attendance  of  such  per- 

*  Written  dui-iiig  tho  yellow  fever  epidemic  of  1888. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  135 

sons  of  the  different  schools  of  medicine,  and  of  such 
other  persons  as  may  be  distinguished  for  their  attain- 
ments in  science  and  natural  research,  to  take  evidence, 
examine  into  and  report  upon  all  methods  that  shall  be 
submitted  to  them  for  the  cure,  pi*evention  and  suppres- 
sion of  yellow  fever  and  other  contagious  and  infectious 
diseases,  and  to  invite  the  attendance  of  men  eminent 
for  learning  and  attainments  in  science  and  natural 
research  from  foreign  countries." 

To  convene  a  congress  to  examine  into  health  meas- 
ures for  the  cure  of  yellow  fever  and  the  like  is  admira- 
ble. I  may  state  here  that  I  am  a  firm  believer  in  the 
protection  given  by  inoculation  for  yellow  fever,  and 
scientific  work  in  that  direction  is  growing  up  towards  a 
plane  where  this  will  be  accepted  by  the  public  at  large. 
Inoculation  will  do  for  tropical  countries.  There  is  no 
reason — absolutely  no  good  reason— why  portions  of  this 
great  country  should  be  swept  by  disease.  If  that  meet- 
ing of  sanitarians  in  Washington  will  bring  about  some 
legislation  that  will  lead  to  the  suppression  of  the  prac- 
tices that  obtain  on  the  Isthmus  (being  those  described 
at  length),  and  almost  identical  practices  in  the  island  of 
Cuba,  much  more  will  have  been  attained,  and  the 
reproach  of  yellow  fever  will  be  of  the  past.  Yellow 
fever  is  as  much  a  disgrace  to-day  to  a  civilized  commu- 
nity, as  an  epidemic  of  small-pox,  because  an  epidemic  of 
either  one  or  the  other  is  an  indication  of  an  absolute 
neglect,  which  in  this  age  of  civilization  and  scientific 
investigation  is  absolutely  unpardonable. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  THE  ISTHMUS  OF  PANAMA — ITS 
COMMUNICATION  BY  STEAM  WITH  VAKIOUS  PORTS — PROD- 
UCTS OF   COLOMBIA, 

Perhaps  the  best  way  of  giving  my  readers  an  idea  of 
the  commercial  importance  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
will  be  by  referring  to  some  of  the  steam  companies  con- 
necting with  it.  Those  at  Colon,  or  the  Atlantic  side  of 
the  Isthmus,  are  the  Royal  Mail  Steam  Packet  Company, 
the  French  Transatlantic  Company,  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company,  the  Hamburg- American  Packet 
Company,  the  Atlas  Steamship  Company,  the  Harrison 
Line,  and  the  West  India  and  Pacific  Steamship  Com- 
pany. Quite  apart  from  these  regular  lines,  a  large 
number  of  tramp  steamers  make  the  Atlantic  port  upon 
the  Isthmus,  with  a  great  many  sailing  vessels.  The 
steam  companies  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  Isthmus  are 
the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company,  already  referred 
to  in  connection  with  the  Island  of  Moro,  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company,  and  a  new  South  American  line 
that  has  just  inaugurated  a  regular  service  between  the 
Isthmus,  Ecuador,  Peru,  and  Valparaiso.  This  latter 
line  I  believe  is  an  opposition  line  to  the  old  Pacific 
Steam  Navigation  Company.  It  will  be  seen  that  some 
powerful  steam  carriers  make  both  ports  of  the  Isthmus 
terminal  points.  To  return  to  the  Atlantic  side.  The 
Royal  Mail  Steam  Packet  Company  have  an  immense 
service,  for  their  steam  lines  connect  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  with  ports  in  Colombia,  Venezuela,  the  West 
Indian  Islands,  and  Southampton.  From  the  latter  port 
they  also  have  a  line  by  way  of  the  Cape  de  Verde 
Islands  to  Pernambuco,  Bahia,  Rio  de  Janeiro  and 
Montevideo.    They  also  have  cargo  boats  plying  between 

136 


Full  Sale  !   Seco>-d-hand   Coffins,  Panama  Cemetery. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  137 

all  the  ports  named  through  the  West  Indies  and  to 
Greytown  in  Nicaragua,  as  well  as  their  intercolonial 
boats  in  the  West  Indies.  Next  in  importance  is  the 
French  Transatlantic  Company,  whose  vessels  sail  from 
St.  Nazaire,  Havre  and  Marseilles,  in  France,  and  San- 
tander,  in  Spain,  touching  at  the  French  West  Indian 
Islands,  and  making  the  Isthmus.  That  line  likewise 
has  cargo  boats,  and  they  do  an  enormous  business. 
Then  there  is  the  Hamburg-American  Packet  Com- 
pany, a  well  organized  and  substantial  corporation, 
whose  traffic  in  the  West  Indies  has  been  built  up  from 
almost  nothing  into  a  huge  service,  keeping  seventeen 
vessels  busy.  There  can  be  no  question  among  those 
who  have  had  opportunities  for  observing — if  they  are 
willing  to  state  the  exact  facts — that  this  latter  corpora- 
tion, owing  to  the  great  regularity  of  its  service  and  the 
fact  that  it  costs  them  less  to  maintain  it,  has  made 
huge  inroads  into  the  carrying  business  of  the  other 
companies.  And  another  fact  in  this  connection  which 
is  important  is,  that  they  are  always  willing  to  meet 
shippers.  Their  vessels  are  substantially  built;  many 
of  them,  as  in  the  French  line,  are  English  and  Scotch. 
The  West  Indian  and  Pacific  Steamship  Line  and 
the  Harrison  Line  practically  are  one  for  all  purposes 
of  business,  and  sail  alternately  from  Liverpool  for 
ports  in  Venezuela,  Colombia,  and  the  Isthmus,  thence 
by  way  of  some  Central  American  and  Mexican  ports  to 
New  Orleans,  where  they  receive  homeward  cargoes  of 
cotton.  In  my  introductory  chapter  I  referred  to  the 
Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company  and  its  excellent 
service  on  both  oceans.  It  is  a  direct  line  from  New 
York  City  to  the  Isthmus.  In  times  past  it  made 
Jamaica.  The  Atlas  Steamship  Company,  an  English 
corporation,  dispatches  vessels  from  New  York  through 
the  West  Indies  to  the  coast  of  Colombia  and  Colon. 
This  line  likewise  does  a  very  large  intercolonial  busi- 
ness. On  return  trips  they  make  some  of  the  Central 
American  ports,  and  Jamaica  and  Hayti,  if  I  recollect 
rightly. 


138  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

These  are  the  important  steam  carriers  discharging 
and  receiving  cargo  and  passengers  at  Colon.  On  the 
Pacific  side  of  the  Isthmus  we  have  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company,  with  their  through  lines  to  San 
Francisco,  via  Central  American  and  Mexican  ports,  and 
their  Central  American  service.  This  company  has  a 
line  to  China  and  Japan  from  San  Francisco.  It  does  a 
very  large  business  and  practically  has  a  monopoly  of 
that  Central  American  and  Mexican  trade.  Prior  to 
four  years  ago  it  controlled  the  carriage  of  coffee  when 
the  rate  to  the  Old  Country  via  the  Isthmus,  if  I  remem- 
ber rightly,  was  six  pounds  per  ton.  Of  course  all  that 
coffee  had  to  cross  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  the  Pan- 
ama Railroad  Company,  which  carried  it  forty-seven 
miles,  it  is  said,  received  exactly  one-half  of  that  sum 
for  its  share,  leaving  the  other  carriers  three  pounds  per 
ton.  As  stated,  prior  to  four  years  ago,  the  Pacific  Mail 
had  the  monopoly.  At  that  time  the  Kosmos  Line  of 
steamers  were  dispatched  from  Hamburg  with  outward 
cargoes  for  ports  in  Chili,  Peru  and  Central  America. 
There  they  contracted  for  return  cargoes  of  coffee  at  four 
pounds,  ten  shillings  per  ton.  The  line  has  built  up,  or 
had  built  up  when  I  was  last  in  Central  America,  a  most 
substantial  business,  and  was  carrying  at  least  one-half 
of  the  whole  coffee  crop,  and  the  prospect  seemed  to  be 
that  all  going  to  Europe  ultimately  would  fall  into  its 
hands.  Shippers  and  merchants  with  whom  I  talked 
seemed  to  have  substantial  reasons  for  sending  it  that 
way.  The  coffee  was  loaded  at  the  ports  of  Central 
America,  carefully  stowed,  and  went  through  the  Straits 
of  Magellan  direct  for  ports  in  Europe,  thus  avoiding  the 
repeated  handlings  at  Panama.  At  first  the  opposition 
of  the  Kosmos  Line  was  made  little  of,  but  it  soon 
became  a  very  formidable  competitor.  German  compa- 
nies can  manage  their  lines  for  far  less  money  than  the 
English  lines,  and  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the  Eng- 
lish lines  cost  less  than  the  American.  As  the  coffee 
crop  of  Central  America  is  estimated  at  upwards  of  one 
million  of  sacks,  this  shipping  direct  forms  a  considera- 
ble item  and  naturally  affects  the  receipts  of  the  Panama 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  139 

Railroad  Company.  Coffee  on  reaching  Colon  was  dis- 
tributed to  the  various  agents  of  consignees  in  that  port, 
some  going  to  France,  some  going  to  the  London  market, 
some  to  various  ports  on  the  Continent,  some  to  New 
York,  and  a  little  to  New  Orleans.  Within  the  last 
twenty-four  months  the  Marquis  de  CamiDo  put  some  of 
his  fine  Spanish  boats  in  the  trade  between  Panama  and 
San  Francisco,  but  the  venture  was  not  a  success,  and 
they  have  been  withdrawn.  From  the  Isthmus  south- 
wards towards  Ecuador,  Peru,  Chili,  and  the  Straits  of 
Magellan,  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company  and 
the  new  company  control  all  that  trade.  These  are 
feeders  on  their  return  to  the  Panama  Railroad.  That 
railroad  company  has  done,  and  still  does,  an  enormous 
business.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  packages  of  all 
sorts  of  goods  cross  the  Isthmus  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific  and  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic,  and, 
if  the  information  given  me  at  various  times  is  accu- 
rate, the  Panama  Railroad  reaps  the  cream  of  the  busi- 
ness, in  that  it  receives  one-half  of  the  whole  price 
charged  for  carrying  freight  forty-seven  miles. 

Sailing  vessels  frequently  make  the  Gulf  of  Panama 
and  the  port,  but  they  bring  cargoes  chiefly  for  local  con- 
sumption. Large  quantities  of  whale  oil  and  whalebone 
cross  the  Isthmus  from  the  whaling  fleet  that  I  have 
already  alluded  to.  By  reference  to  the  map  that 
accompanies  this  book,  the  geographical  and  commercial 
importance  of  the  Isthmus  will  be  apparent. 

Colombia  exports  a  considerable  quantity  of  mahog- 
any, fustic,  cedar,  dye  -woods,  sarsaparilla  and  other 
medicinal  plants.  The  produce  of  its  mines  is  gold, 
silver,  a  little  platinum,  copper,  iron,  lead,  and  a  few 
precious  stones,  but  some  of  the  latter  of  considerable 
value.  In  an  earlier  chapter  I  have  referred  to  its  excel- 
lent tobacco.  It  also  exports  cocoa,  a  little  indigo,  a 
large  amount  of  vegetable  ivory,  and  its  export  trade  of 
bananas  from  the  Isthmus  is  very  large  indeed.  The 
principal  items  of  export  are  cinchona,  tobacco,  balsam 
of  tolu,  hides,  rubber,  and  the  precious  metals.  This 
list  of  course  does  not  include  the  exports  of  Mexico, 


140  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

and  Central  and  South  America,  on  the  Pacific,  which 
cross  the  Isthmus  at  Panama. 

Mr.  August  Strunz,  Consul  for  Austria  in  Barran- 
quilla,  annually  issues  a  sheet  giving  the  exports  from 
that  section  of  Colombia  on  the  Atlantic.  From  this  I 
find  that  the  total  annual  value  of  produce  and  treasure 
by  way  of  the  Magdalena  River  at  Barranquilla  is  $7,744,- 
185,  and  the  exports  to  the  various  ports  in  1887  were  as 
follows:  London  received  23  packages  of  balsam,  1189 
packages  of  cinchona  bark,  11  packages  of  bird  skins, 
5  packages  of  cigars,  206  packages  of  cocoa,  14,404  pack- 
ages of  coffee,  1354  packages  of  loose  hides,  1029  packages 
of  ivory  nuts,  544  packages  of  mineral,  1583  packages  of 
plants,  1286  packages  of  rubber,  8  packages  of  sarsapa- 
rilla,  35  packages  of  sundries,  991  packages  of  tobacco, 
2400  fustic  logs;  total  number  of  packages,  25,068.  Total 
weight  in  kilograms,  1,420,030.  Total  value  of  produce, 
$489,795.  Total  value  of  treasure,  $2,140,263.  Total 
value  of  produce  and  treasure  to  the  city  of  London, 
$2,630,058. 

Liverpool  received  3  packages  of  balsam,  212  packages 
of  cinchona,  1  package  of  bird  skins,  245  packages  of 
coffee,  91  bales  of  cotton,  1329  packages  of  cotton  seed,  20 
packages  of  dividivi,  174  bales  of  goat  skins,  142  loose 
hides,  2045  packages  of  ivory  nuts,  37  packages  of  rub- 
ber, 2  packages  of  sundries,  28,741  fustic  logs.  Total 
number  of  packages,  33,042.  Total  weight  in  kilograms, 
1,160,940.     Total  value  of  produce,  $51,810. 

Swansea,  in  Wales,  received  4321  packages  of  mineral. 
Total  number  of  packages,  4321.  Total  weight  in  kilo- 
grams, 259,260.     Total  value  $129,630. 

In  France,  Havre  received  6  packages  of  balsam,  1 
package  of  bird  skins,  3  packages  of  cigars,  12  packages 
of  cocoa,  5535  packages  of  coffee,  247  bales  of  cotton, 
2104  of  cotton  seed,  314  bales  of  goat  skins,  2376  loose 
hides,  72  packages  of  minerals,  3  packages  of  plants,  171 
packages  of  rubber,  24  packages  of  sundries,  11,053  fustic 
logs.  Total  number  of  packages,  21,921.  Total  weight 
in  kilograms,  927,260.     Total  value  of  produce,' $157,216. 

Paris  received  52  packages  of  balsam,  1  package  of 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  141 

cinchona,  11  packages  of  bird  skins,  23  packages  of 
cocoa,  1283  packages  of  coffee,  8052  loose  hides,  65  pack- 
ages of  ivory  nuts,  282  packages  of  mineral,  8  packages 
of  plants,  381  packages  of  rubber,  45  packages  of  sun- 
dries. Total  number  of  packages,  10,203.  Total  weight 
in  kilograms,  225,280.  Total  value  of  produce,  194,165. 
Total  value  of  treasure,  $658,505.  Total  value  of  produce 
and  treasure,  $752,670. 

Bordeaux  received  76  packages  of  coffee,  242  packages 
of  ivory  nuts,  445  fustic  logs.  Total  number  of  pack 
ages,  763.  Total  weight  in  kilograms,  34,850.  Total 
value  of  produce,  $2,952. 

Bremen,  in  Germany,  received  34  packages  of  balsam, 
51  packages  of  cinchona  bark,  2  packages  of  cigars, 
777  packages  of  coffee,  1591  loose  hides,  8687  packages 
of  ivory  nuts,  3  packages  of  rubber,  21  packages  of  sun- 
dries, 23,560  packages  of  tobacco,  8868  logs  of  fustic. 
Total  number  of  packages,  43,594.  Total  weight  in  kil- 
ograms, 2,592,620.     Total  value  of  produce,  $547,739. 

Hamburg  received  28  packages  of  balsam,  300  pack- 
ages of  cinchona  bark,  5  packages  of  cigars,  105  packages 
of  cocoa,  7260  packages  of  coffee,  1  package  of  cotton 
seed,  227  bales  of  goat  skins,  2332  loose  hides,  5088  pack- 
ages of  ivory  nuts,  79  packages  of  mineral,  54  packages 
of  rubber,  574  packages  of  sundries,  1087  packages  of 
tobacco,  and  19,076  fustic  logs.  Total  number  of  pack- 
ages, 36,216.  Total  weight  in  kilograms,  1,547,950. 
Total  value  of  produce,  $247,634.  Total  value  of  treas- 
ure, $3,971.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure,  $251,- 
605. 

New  York  received  283  packages  of  balsam,  3618  pack- 
ages of  cinchona  bark,  38  packages  of  cocoa,  52,570  pack- 
ages of  coffee,  620  bales  of  goat  skins,  186,106  loose  hides, 
368  packages  of  ivory  nuts,  1033  packages  of  mineral,  286 
jmckages  of  plants,  1334  packages  of  rubber,  12  packages 
of  sarsaparilla,  93  packages  of  sundries,  7269  logs  of  fus- 
tic. Total  number  of  packages,  253,630.  Total  weight  in 
kilograms,  5,748,610.  Total  value  of  produce,  $2,272,844. 
Total  value  of  treasure,  $73,632.  Total  value  of  produce 
and  treasure,  $2,346,476. 


142  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

The  West  Indies  received  3  packages  of  cigars,  107 
packages  of  cocoa,  437  packages  of  coffee,  89  packages  of 
hats,  259  packages  of  sundries,  890  packages  of  tobacco. 
Total  number  of  packages,  1785.  Total  weight  in  kilo- 
grams, 115,970.  Total  value  of  produce,  $85,655.  Total 
value  of  treasure,  $14,173.  Total  value  of  produce  and 
treasure,  $99,828. 

Exports  to  Carthagena,  Colombia,  were  146  packages 
of  plants.  Total  number  of  packages,  146.  Total  weight 
in  kilograms,  7300.  Total  value  of  produce,  $4,380. 
Total  value  of  treasure,  $2,192.  Total  value  of  produce 
and  treasure,  46572. 

Colon,  Colombia,  received  21  packages  of  balsam,  24 
packages  of  cigars,  157  packages  of  coffee,  1180  packages 
of  sundries,  783  packages  of  tobacco,  8038  railroad  cross 
ties.  Total  number  of  packages,  10,203.  Total  weight 
in  kilograms,  941,290.  Total  value  of  produce,  $51,536. 
Total  value  of  treasure,  $712,638.  Total  value  of  produce 
and  treasure,  $764,174. 

Spain  received  5  packages  of  bark,  1  package  of  bird 
skins,  2  packages  of  cocoa,  9  packages  of  coffee,  273  loose 
hides,  2  packages  of  ivory  nuts.  Total  number  of  pack- 
ages, 292.  Total  weight  in  kilograms,  3880.  Total  value 
of  produce,  $2,355.  Total  value  of  treasure,  $1,100. 
Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure,  $3,455. 

Eecapitulating  these  and  adding  the  totals,  there  were : 
number  of  packages  of  balsam,  450 ;  of  cinchona  bark, 
5.376;  of  bird  skins,  25;  of  cigars,  42;  of  cocoa,  493;  of 
coffee,  82,753;  number  of  bales  of  cotton,  338;  number  of 
packages  of  cotton  seed,  3434;  of  dividivi,  20;  1335  bales 
of  goatskins;  89  packages  of  hats;  202,226  loose  hides; 
17, 526  packages  of  ivory  nuts ;  6331  packages  of  mineral ; 
2026  of  plants;  3266  of  rubber;  20  of  sarsaparilla ;  2233  of 
sundries;  27,311  of  tobacco;  77,852  logs  of  fustic;  and 
8038  railroad  cross  ties.  Total  number  of  packages, 
441,184. 

Weight  in  kilograms:  of  balsam,  27,000;  of  bark,  322,- 
560;  of  bird  skins,  1250;  of  cigars,  2100;  of  cocoa,  29,580: 
of  coffee,  4,965,180;  of  cotton,  67,680;  of  cotton  seed, 
240,380;  of  dividivi,  1000;  of  goatskins,  80,100;  of  hats. 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  14;) 

5340;  of  hides,  2,023,260;  of  ivory  nuts,  1,226,820;  of 
mineral,  379,860;  of  plants,  101,300;  of  rubber,  326,600; 
of  sarsaparilla,  1200;  of  sundries,  133,980;  of  tobacco, 
1,911,770;  of  fustic  logs,  2,335,560;  of  railroad  cross  ties, 
803,300.     Grosstotal  weight,  14,985,240. 

Total  of  values:  balsam,  $27,000;  bark,  $268,800;  bird 
skins,  $12,500;  cigars,  $6,300;  cocoa,  $12,325;  coffee, 
$1,655,060;  cotton,  $16,900;  cotton  seed,  $3,434;  dividivi, 
$20;  goat  skins,  $26,700;  hats,  $53,400;  hides,  $1,011,- 
130;  ivory  nuts,  $87,630;  mineral,  $189,930;  plants, 
$60,780;  rubber,  $81,650;  sarsaparilla,  $600;  sundries, 
$22,330;  tobacco,  $546,220;  fustic  logs,  $38,926;  railroad 
cross  ties,  $16,076.  Gross  total  value  of  produce,  $4,137,- 
711.  Gross  total  value  of  treasure,  $3,606,474.  Gross 
total  value  of  produce  and  treasure,  $7,744,185. 

The  Colombian  dollar  is  not  equal  to  the  American 
dollar,  and  its  value  depends  upon  the  rate  of  exchange. 
The  latter  sometimes  is  twenty-five  to  thirty,  and  some- 
times even  thirty-five. 

Taking  up  the  exports  by  steamers  from  1873  to  1887, 
they  are  as  follows : 

For  the  year  1873  the  number  of  packages  was  266,289; 
number  of  tons  of  wood,  731;  weight  of  packages  and 
wood  in  kilograms,  14,198,560;  the  value  of  produce, 
$4,935,340:  value  of  treasure,  $2,781,397.  Total  value  of 
produce  and  treasure  for  1873,  $7,716,737. 

The  exports  by  steamers  for  1874  were  as  follows: 
number  of  packages,  296,399;  number  of  tons  of  wood, 
567;  weight  of  packages  and  wood,  in  kilograms,  10,255,- 
136;  value  of  produce,  $5,323,699;  value  of  treasure, 
$3,441,087.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for  the 
year  1874,  $8,764,786. 

For  the  year  1875  the  exports  by  steamers  were  as  fol- 
lows: Number  of  packages,  313,302;  number  of  tons  of 
wood,  1,369;  weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms, 
16,738,480;  value  of  produce,  $5,144,910;  value  of  treas- 
ure, $3,937,130.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure,  for 
the  year  1875,  $9,082,040. 

For  the  year  1876  the  exports  by  steamers  were  as  fol- 
lows: Number  of  packages,  215,937;  number  of  tons  of 


144  FIVi:  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

wood,  1,225;  weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms, 
11,169,790;  value  of  produce,  $3,091,614;  value  of  treas- 
ure, $2,893,626.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure,  for 
the  year  1876,  $6,885,240. 

The  exports  by  steamers  for  the  year  1877  were  as  fol- 
lows; Number  of  packages,  230,509;  number  of  tons  of 
wood.  572 ;  weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms, 
11,229,390;  value  of  produce,  $3,672,100;  value  of  treas- 
ure, $3,128,045.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for 
the  year  1877,  $6,800,145. 

For  the  year  1878  the  exports  by  steamers  were  as  fol- 
lows: Number  of  packages,  328,928;  number  of  tons  of 
wood,  845 ;  weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms, 
14,398,950;  value  of  produce,  $5,084,405;  value  of  treas- 
ure, $3,839,766.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for 
the  year  1878,  $8,924,171. 

In  the  year  1879  the  exports  by  steamers  were :  Num- 
ber of  packages,  338,764;  number  of  tons  of  wood,  860; 
weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms,  15,258,380; 
value  of  produce,  $6,077,317;  value  of  treasure  $3,272,168. 
Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for  the  year  1879, 
$9,349,485. 

For  the  year  1880  the  exports  by  steamers  were :  Num- 
ber of  packages,  390,360;  number  of  tons  of  wood,  800; 
weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms,  14,922,550; 
value  of  produce,  $6,309,287;  value  of  treasure,  $2,842, - 
31.     Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure,  $9,152,218. 

The  exports  by  steamers  for  the  year  1881  were  as  fol- 
lows: Number  of  packages,  423,342;  number  of  tons  of 
wood,  1,085;  weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms, 
15,862,550;  value  of  produce,  $9,055,669;  value  of  treas- 
ure, $3,343,940.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure,  for 
the  year  1881,  $12,399,609. 

The  exports  by  steamers  for  the  year  1882  were :  Num- 
ber of  packages,  412,520;  number  of  tons  of  wood,  1,284; 
weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms,  15,624,600; 
value  of  produce,  $8,257,402:  value  of  treasure  $3,137,- 
653.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for  the  year 
1882,  $11,395,055. 

The  exports  by  steamers  for  the  year  1883  were :  Num- 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  145 

ber  of  packages,  550,652;  number  of  tons  of  wood,  5,838; 
weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms,  20,199,750; 
value  of  produce,  $6,999,955;  value  of  treasure,  $3,951, 
126.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for  the  year 
1883,  $10  951,081. 

For  the  year  1884  the  exports  by  steamers  were  as  fol- 
lows: Number  of  packages,  421,886;  number  of  tons  of 
wood,  887;  weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms, 
13,856,220;  value  of  produce,  $6,194,092;  value  of  treas- 
ure, $4,352,276.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for 
the  year  1884,  $10,546,368. 

For  the  year  1885  the  exports  by  steamers  were :  Num- 
ber of  packages,  151,071;  number  of  tons  of  wood,  59; 
weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms,  5,029,580; 
value  of  produce,  $1,593,235;  value  of  treasure,  $2,214, 
616.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for  the  year 
1885,  $3,807,851. 

For  the  year  1886  the  exports  by  steamers  were  as  fol- 
lows: Nujnber  of  packages,  407,759;  number  of  tons  of 
wood,  664 ;  weight  of  packages  and  v,^ood  in  kilograms, 
13,438,460;  value  of  produce,  $4,526,354;  value  of  treas- 
ure, $3,264,594.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for 
the  year  1886,  $7,790,948. 

In  1887  the  exports  by  steamers  were:  Number  of 
packages,  441,184;  number  of  tons  of  wood,  3,140; 
weight  of  packages  and  wood  in  kilograms,  14,985,240; 
value  of  produce,  $4,137,711;  value  of  treasure,  $3,606, 
474.  Total  value  of  produce  and  treasure  for  the  year 
1887,  $7,744,185. 

In  1886,  Colombia's  total  imports  amounted  to  £2,500,- 
000,  and  her  total  exports  to  £2,875,000.  Her  imports 
from  the  United  Kingdom  were  valued  at  £983,172,  and 
her  exports  thereto  at  £295,086.* 


*  "  Whitaker's  Almanac,"  Loudou,  188b. 
10 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  BUILDING  OP  THE  PANAMA^  RAILWAY — DIFFICULTIES 
MET  IN  CONSTRUCTION — LOSS  OF  LIFE — ITS  COMPLETION 
A  CREDIT  TO  AMERICAN   ENGINEERING. 

In  the  chapter  on  Old  Panama  frequent  reference  will 
be  found  to  the  River  Chagre,  as  it  was  termed  then,  or 
the  River  Chagres,  as  it  is  called  to-day.  The  Isthmus 
of  Panama  came  into  prominence  during  the  gold  fever 
of  1849,  when  thousands  crossed  to  the  Pacific  by  way  of 
the  Chagres  River  as  far  as  Cruces,  and  thence  by  mule- 
back  or  otherwise  to  modern  Panama.  Cruces  of  to-day 
is  the  Cruz  of  the  past. 

The  traffic  across  the  Isthmus  was  so  extensive  owing 
to  the  gold  fever  of  '49  in  California,  that  the  construc- 
tion of  a  railway  was  deemed  imperatively  necessary, 
and  the  Panama  Railroad  Company  broke  ground  in  the 
latter  end  of  the  year  1850 .  One  reads  *  of  the  great 
difficulties  that  had  been  overcome  by  the  pioneers,  t 

To  thoroughly  understand  a  few  of  these  as  met  by  the 
early  engineers  of  that  road,  I  have  simply  to  direct  my 
reader's  attention  to  the  swamps  and  jungle  described  at 
length  in  an  earlier  chapter.  The  first  engineering  staff 
landed  there  in  the  fall  of  1849.  Their  quarters  were  on 
board  a  sailing  ship.  They  worked  by  day,  waist  deep 
in  mud  and  slime,  making  surveys  and  cutting  a  trail, 
and  slept  at  night  on  their  fioating  home.  Nothing 
but  the  indomitable  will  and  push  for  which  Americans 
are  justly  praised,  could  have  overcome  the  terrible 
difficulties  that  met  them  at  every  step.  The  country 
was  a  howling  wilderness,  pestilential  and  death-deal- 


*  "  The  Isthmus  of  Panama,"  Otis,  New  York, 
f  "Panama in  1855,"  New  York. 

146 


I    '*     I  ^IltHiljiilpji^  *  J4    iHTyf 


i-^a^ 


'V 


Panama  Ckmetery,  Ready-made  Graves. 


FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA.  I47 

ing  ;  the  forests  teemed  with  poisonous  snakes  and  other 
equally  unpleasant  inhabitants  ;  night  was  made  hid- 
eous by  the  large,  broad-chested,  active  mosquitoes 
of  that  part  of  the  coast,  who  bite  through  clothing  most 
successfully;  the  country  produced  absolutely  nothing, 
and  every  mouthful  of  food  had  to  come  from  New 
York.  Despite  these  obstacles,  that  brave  little  band 
worked  ahead,  and  kept  on  with  their  surveys.  At 
the  very  outset  they  encountered  the  difficulty  of  find- 
ing a  suitable  location  for  the  line  traversing  the 
quicksands  and  swamps  between  Colon  of  to-day  and 
Gatun.  It  is  reported  that  in  some  of  the  swamps  the 
engineers  under  the  late  Col.  George  M.  Totten,  and 
Mr.  Trautwine,  failed  to  find  bottom  at  180  feet. 
An  embankment  was  created  for  the  road  by  throwing 
in  hundreds  of  cords  of  wood,  earth,  rock,  and  more 
wood.  This  causeway,  as  it  may  be  called,  cost  a  fab- 
ulous sum  of  money;  but  at  last  it  was  completed 
and  they  floated  their  tracks,  so  to  speak,  over  the 
swamps.  In  early  days  such  sections  were  graphically 
called  "  the  soft  spots "  of  the  road.  Despite  their  push 
and  means,  it  took  nearly  two  years  to  complete  some 
twenty -thi-ee  miles  of  the  road,  or  the  section  from  Co- 
lon to  Barbacoas.  Passengers  and  luggage  went  from 
Colon  to  Barbacoas,  and  there  took  bungoes,  or  canoes, 
and  went  up  the  Chagres  River  to  Gorgona,  or  Cruces, 
and  then  by  road  to  Panama.  At  the  close  of  the  year 
1854  the  road  had  been  completed  as  far  as  "  the  divide," 
or  Culebra.  This  is  the  highest  point  on  the  Panama 
Railroad,  and  is  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  feet,  six 
inches,  above  tide  level.  It  goes  without  saying  that  it 
was  the  lowest  pass  found  within  the  mountains.  On 
the  27th  day  of  January,  1855,  the  first  locomotive 
crossed  front  ocean  to  ocean,  and  Col.  George  M.  Tot- 
ten went  over  on  her.  Thus  fully  five  years  had  been 
consumed  before  the  road  was  built.  Afterwards  many 
improvements  were  made :  embankments  were  strength- 
ened, new  bridges  were  put  in,  and  soft  places  were  for- 
tified. 
The  cost  of  the  Panama  Railroad  largely  exceeded  the 


148  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

original  expectations  of  the  company.  On  the  13th  of 
March,  1855,  the  total  was  given  at  $7,000,000.* 

The  engineer-in-chief.  Colonel  Totten,  placed  it  at 
$6,000,000,  but  he  did  not  include  many  of  the  ad- 
ditional expenses,  such  as  substantial  wooden  bridges  for 
trestles,  the  iron  bridge  at  Barbacoas,  costing  $500,000, 
and  other  items. 

A  Fi'ench  writer,  M.  Emile  Chevalier,  gave  the  esti- 
mated cost  of  the  railroad  on  the  1st  of  June,  1850,  at 
$-4,900,000  ;  its  prospective  gross  receipts  at  $860,000  ;  its 
annual  expenses  at  $344,000;  and  net  revenue  at  $516, 
000.  t 

It  probably  will  be  safe  to  say  that  the  road  cost  $8,000,- 
000,  or  fully  three  millions  over  the  estimate.  The  long 
rainy  season  played  great  havoc  with  the  work,  and  the 
difficulties  which  the  engineers  had  to  contend  with 
were  simply  innumerable.  No  one  can  appreciate  them 
unless  he  has  lived  in  such  countries  and  really  knows 
Avhat  the  wet  season  means.  I  shall  cite  but  a  single 
instance  in  connection  with  the  building  of  the  Panama 
Eailroad  in  the  high  levels,  to  show  what  railroad  cuts 
within  the  tropics  mean.  After  they  had  got  on  the 
other  side  of  the  "  divide  "  towards  Panama  and  opposite 
Paraiso,  a  forty-foot  cut  was  made.  Owing  to  the  pe- 
culiar soil  there,  when  the  first  rain  came,  the  surface 
became  saturated  and  the  greasy  soil  moved  into  the  cut 
burying  the  railroad  to  a  depth  of  some  twenty  feet. 
This,  remember,  on  a  simple  cut  of  forty  feet.  One 
such  lesson  was  ample  for  the  experienced  men  di- 
recting the  construction  and  a  new  bed  was  promptly 
laid  over  the  old  one.  I  have  already  said  that  the  Isth- 
mvis  furnished  nothing  in  the  shape  of  food  ;  everything 
had  to  be  brought  from  the  United  States  or  abroad. 
The  laborers  came  from  Ireland,  and  from  Jamaica  ; 
there  were  a  lot  of  Coolies  and  no  end  of  Chinamen,  Co- 
lombians and  Indians.  The  great  bulk  of  the  material 
likewise   had   to    come  from   abroad.      Tomes    in    his 


*  New  York  Tribune. 

t  "Eevue  des  Deux  Moudes,"  Paris. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  I49 

work  *  gives  a  graphic  and  truthful  sketch  of  the  swamps 
and  the  jungle,  and  feelingly  treats  of  the  climate,  re- 
garding which  he  says,  "when  to  this  was  added  a 
climate  which  disposes,  from  its  prostrating  heat,  to  in- 
dolence, and  an  atmosphere  the  malignant  breathing  of 
which  is  poison,  the  result  which  has  been  accomplished 
seems  almost  superhuman.  " 

He  also  summarizes  his  view  regarding  climate  as  fol- 
lows : 

' '  The  unheal thiness  of  the  climate  has  been  one  of  the 
most  serious  obstacles  against  which  the  enterprise  has 
struggled.  I  need  not  dwell  upon  the  causes  which  pro- 
duce those  diseases  which  are  endemic  on  the  Isthmus. 
The  alternation  of  the  wet  and  dry  seasons,  a  perpetual 
summer  heat,  and  the  decomposition  of  the  profuse 
tropical  vegetation,  must  of  course  generate  an  intense 
miasmatic  poison,  and  I  was  not  surprised  when  the  old- 
est and  most  experienced  of  the  physicians  employed  on 
the  railway  declared  to  me  that  no  one,  of  whatever  race 
or  country,  who  becomes  a  resident  of  the  Isthmus, 
escapes  disease. 

"  I  am  indebted  to  the  same  gentlemen  for  some 
interesting  facts.  From  him  I  learned  that  those 
who  wei*e  exposed  to  the  miasmatic  poison  of  the 
country  were  generally  taken  ill  in  four  or  five  Aveeks, 
although  sometimes,  but  rarely,  not  for  four  or  five 
months  after  exposure.  That  the  first  attack  was  gener- 
ally severe ;  and  took  the  form  of  yellow,  bilious  remit- 
tent, or  malignant  intermittent  fever.  That  although 
none  were  exempt,  the  misamatic  poison  affected  the 
various  races  with  different  degrees  of  rapidity.  That 
the  African  resisted  the  longest,  next  the  Coolie,  then  the 
European,  and  last  in  order  the  Chinese,  who  gave  in  at 
once. 

"The  system  never  habituates  itself  to  the  misamatic 
poison,  and  complete  recovery  from  fever,  during  a  resi- 
dence on  the  Isthmus,  is  impossible.    The  sufferer  may 

*  "  Panama  in  1885." 


150  J^'IVE  YEARS  AT  PA?rAMA. 

arise  from  his  bed  of  sickness,  but  totters  up  and  stalks 
about  a  mere  ghost  of  his  former  self.  It  is  thus  that  I 
never  met  with  a  wholesome  looking  person  among  all 
those  engaged  upon  the  railroad.  There  was  not  one 
whose  constitution  had  not  been  sapped  by  disease,  and 
all,  without  exception,  are  in  the  almost  dailj'"  habit  of 
taking  medicine  to  di-ive  away  the  ever-recurring  fever 
and  ague.  The  Railroad  Company  are  so  far  conscious 
of  the  debility  engendered  by  a  residence  on  the  Isthmus, 
that  they  refuse  to  employ  those  laborers  who,  having 
gone  to  a  healthier  climate  to  recruit,  return  to  seek 
employment.  It  is  found  that  such  are  unprofitable 
servants,  and  yield  at  once  to  the  enervating  and  sicken- 
ing climate.  The  enterprise  requires  all  the  vigor  of  un- 
weakened  sinews,  and  of  pure,  wholesome  blood. 
********** 
"  A  terrible  fatality  attended  the  efforts  of  the  Railroad 
Company  to  avail  themselves  of  the  assistance  of  the 
Chinese  laborei'S.  A  ship  arrived,  and  landed  on  the 
Isthmus  some  eight  hundred,  after  a  fair  voyage  from 
Hong  Kong,  where  these  poor  devils  of  the  flowery  king- 
dom had  unwittingly  sold  themselves  to  the  service  of 
the  railroad,  perfectly  ignorant  of  the  country  whither 
they  were  going,  and  of  the  trials  which  awaited  them. 
The  voyage  was  tolerably  prosperous,  and  the  Chinese 
bore  its  fatigues  and  sufferings  with  great  patience, 
cheered  by  the  prospects  of  reaching  the  foreign  land, 
whither  they  had  been  tempted  by  the  glowing  descrip- 
tions of  those  traffickers  in  human  life,  who  had  so  liber- 
ally promised  them  wealth  and  happiness.  Sixteen  died 
on  the  passage,  and  were  thrown  into  the  sea.  i  No  sooner 
had  the  eight  hundred  survivors  landed,  than  thirty-two 
of  the  number  were  struck  down  by  disease;  and  in 
less  than  a  week  afterward,  eighty  more  were  laid  by 
their  side.  The  interpreters  who  accompanied  them,  at- 
tributed this  rapid  prostration  to  the  want  of  their 
habitual  opium.  This  drug  was  then  distributed  among 
them,  and  with  the  good  effect  of  so  far  stimulating  their 
energies,  that  two-thirds  of  the  sick  arose  again  from 
their  beds,  and  began  to  labor.     A  Maine  opium  law, 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  151 

however,  was  soon  promulgated  on  the  score  of  the  un- 
morahty  of  administering  to  so  pernicious  a  habit,  and 
without  regard,  it  is  hoped,  to  the  expense ;  which,  how- 
ever, was  no  inconsiderable  item,  since  the  daily  quota 
of  each  Chinese  amounted  to  fifteen  grains,  at  the  cost  of 
at  least  fifteen  cents.  Whether  it  was  owing  to  the  de- 
privation of  their  habitual  stimulants,  or  the  malignant 
effects  of  the  climate,  or  home-sickness,  or  disappoint- 
ment, in  a  few  weeks  there  was  hardly  one  out  of  the 
eight  hundred  Chinese  who  was  not  prostrate  and  unfit 
to  labor.  The  poor  sufferers  let  the  pick  and  the  shovel 
fall  from  their  hands,  and  yielded  themselves  up  to  the 
agony  of  despair.  They  now  gladly  welcomed  death, 
and  impatiently  awaited  their  turn  in  the  ranks  which 
were  falling  before  the  pestilence.  The  havoc  of  disease 
went  on,  and  would  have  done  its  work  in  time ;  but  as 
it  was  sometimes  merciful,  and  spared  a  life,  and  was 
deliberate  though  deadly,  the  despairing  Chinese  could 
wait  no  longer ;  he  hastily  seized  the  hand  of  death,  and 
voluntarily  sought  destruction  in  its  grasp.  Hundreds 
destroyed  themselves,  and  showed,  in  their  various  modes 
of  suicide,  the  characteristic  Chinese  ingenuity.  Some 
deliberately  lighted  their  pipes,  and  sat  themselves  down 
upon  the  shore  of  the  sea,  and  awaited  the  rising  of  the 
tide — grimly  resolved  to  die — and  sat  and  sat,  silent  and 
unmoved  as  a  storm-beaten  rock,  as  wave  rose  above 
wave,  until  they  sank  into  the  depths  of  eternity.  Some 
bargained  with  their  companions  for  death— giving  their 
all  to  the  friendly  hand  which,  with  a  kindly  touch  of 
the  trigger,  would  scatter  their  brains,  and  hasten  their 
doom.  Some  hung  themselves  to  the  tall  trees  by  the 
hair,  and  some  twisted  their  queues  about  their  necks, 
with  a  deliberate  coil  after  coil,  until  their  faces  black- 
ened, their  eye-balls  started  out,  their  tongues  protruded, 
and  death  relieved  their  agony.  Some  cut  ugly  crutch- 
shaped  sticks,  sharpened  the  ends  to  a  point,  and  thrust 
their  necks  upon  them  until  they  were  pierced  through 
and  through,  and  thus  mangled,  yielded  up  life  in  a  tor- 
rent of  blood.  Some  took  great  stones  into  their  hands, 
and  leaped  into  the  depths  of  the  nearest  river,  and  clung, 


152  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

with  resolute  hold,  to  the  weight  which  sunk  them,  gur- 
gling in  the  agonies  of  drowning,  to  the  bottom,  until 
death  loosened  their  grasp,  and  floated  them  to  the  sur- 
face, lifeless  bodies.  Some  starved  themselves  to  death 
— refusing  either  to  eat  or  drink.  Some  impaled  them- 
selves upon  their  instruments  of  labor — and  thus,  in 
a  few  weeks  after  their  arrival,  there  were  scarce 
two  hundred  Chinese  left  of  the  whole  number.  This 
miserable  remnant  of  poor  heart-sick  exiles,  prostrate 
from  the  effects  of  the  climate,  and  bent  on  death,  being 
useless  for  labor  were  sent  to  Jamaica,  where  they  have 
ever  since  lingered  out  a  miserable  beggar's  life. 

"The  Eailroad  Company  was  hardly  more  fortunate 
with  another  importation  of  live  freight.  A  cargo  of 
Irish  laborers  from  Cork  reached  Aspinwall,  and  so 
rapidly  did  they  yield  to  the  malignant  effects  of  the 
climate,  that  not  a  good  day's  labor  was  obtained  from  a 
single  one ;  and  so  great  was  the  mortality,  that  it  was 
found  necessary  to  ship  the  survivors  to  New  York, 
where  most  died  from  the  fever  of  the  Isthmus  which 
was  fermenting  in  their  blood.  The  laborers  now  em- 
ployed, to  the  number  of  3000,  on  the  road  are  of  the 
mixed  native  races,  chiefly  from  the  province  of  Car- 
thagena,  Negroes  from  Jamaica,  and  Coolies  from  the 
East  Indies." 

The  Panama  Railroad  will  ever  remain  a  permanent 
monument  to  American  skill  and  enterprise  and  the 
honor  of  connecting  the  two  'oceans  is  theirs.  I  have 
already  given  some  idea  of  the  estimated  revenue,  look- 
ing at  it  from  Mr.  Chevalier's  standpoint.  The  profits 
paid  by  that  road  in  times  past  have  been  very  large, 
being  all  the  way  from  twelve  to  twenty-two  per  cent. 
Mr.  Chevalier's  modest  estimate  of  its  cost  was  $4,900,000 
and  its  gross  receipts  $860,000.  As  has  been  shown,  the 
road  cost  some  eight  millions,  but  its  gross  receipts  for  a 
series  of  years,  if  I  remember  rightly,  have  been  about 
two  and  a  half  millions  to  three  millions  of  dollars  per 
annum,  which  is  the  best  possible  proof  of  its  value. 
The  Panama  Railroad  Company,  while  still  operating 
under  an  American  charter  is  said  to  belong  to  the 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  153 

Panama  Canal  Company.  Its  sale  by  the  former  to  the 
latter  has  developed  a  question  with  the  United  States 
of  Colombia  that  may  be  awkward  for  either  corpora- 
tion. The  government  of  Colombia  contends  that  ac- 
cording to  its  concession  to  the  road,  in  the  event  of  a 
sale,  twenty-five  per  cent  reverts  to  the  National  treas- 
tB'^ .  "The  Canal  Company,  I  believe,  takes  the  ground 
that  the  road  has  not  changed  hands,  in  that  it  is  still 
operated  under  an  American  charter  and  that  some  of 
the  shareholders  are  still  Americans.  Whether  these 
arguments  will  be  deemed  valid  by  the  sons  of  Colombia, 
learned  in  the  law,  remains  to  be  seen.  While  it  is  quite  /\^* 
true  that  the  road  is  still  operated  under  that  American  *^ 
charter,  it  is  equally  true  that  over  six-sevenths  of  the 
shares  were  sold  to  M.  de  Lesseps'  company.  It  has 
been  stated  time  and  time  again,  and,  as  far  as  I  know  % 
the  statement  never  has  been  questioned,  that  M.  de 
Lesseps  has  hypothecated  the  stock  for  advances  made  .  \J_^ 
by  prominent  banking  firms  in  New  York  City.  It  is  ^  '• 
further  alleged  that  the  accrued  interest  on  the  money  >^j 
so  loaned  now  represents  a  very  large,  sum,  and,  in  the 
future,  owing  to  the  complications  which  surround  the 
great  French  Undertaker,  the  road  must  revert  to  a 
strictly  American  ownership.  If  such  becomes  the  case, 
it  will  still  leave  the  question  of  twenty-five  per  cent  on 
the  original  sale  open.  And,  apropos  of  the  Panama 
Eailroad,  I  will  here  refer  to  a  statement  that  I  obtained 
from  an  ofHcial  source.  If  it  is  accurate,  it  is  simply 
another  illustration  of  the  profound  wisdom  that 
actuated  the  minds  of  the  men  who  controlled  the  stock 
of  the  Panama  Railroad  at  the  time  of  its  sale  to  M.  de 
Lesseps'  company.  It  would  seem  that  in  the  deed  of 
sale  a  proviso  was  placed  that  if  the  Panama  Canal 
Company  failed  to  complete  their  ditch,  the  road  would 
revert  to  the  American  Company ;  and  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  canal  became  a  fact,  the  sale  would  hold  good. 
The  acute  reasoning  on  this  subject  is  simply  delightful. 
If  the  canal  became  a  fact  the  road  would  be  valueless, 
but  if  it  was  a  failure  the  road  being  still  valuable, 
would  revert  to  the  original  owners.     In  the  fall  of  1879 


154  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

M.  de  Lesseps  could  have  bought  the  road  for  $14,000,000, 
or  70,000  shares  at  $200.  We  must  bear  in  mind  that 
the  road  cost  some  eight  milhon  of  dollars.  Previous 
to  De  Lesseps'  breaking  groimd,  its  shares  were  at 
par.  Its  plant  on  the  Isthmus  was  in  a  wretched 
condition,  there  being  but  three  locomotives  that  really 
were  serviceable.  Following  the  advent  of  the  Canal 
engineers  in  February,  1880,  a  carefully  planned  system 
of  obstructing  the  delivery  of  the  goods  of  the  Panama 
Canal  Company  over  the  line  was  put  in  force.  The 
Railway  Company  controlled  the  situation,  but  M. 
de  Lesseps  was  not  in  a  position  at  that  time  to  buy, 
and  the  obstruction  went  on  to  the  great  detriment  of 
the  Canal  Company.  The  shares  that  had  been  offered 
him  by  the  late  Mr.  Trenor  W.  Park  kei)t  on  advanc- 
ing and  advancing,  and  when  he  got  ready  to  buy 
they  had  increased  in  nominal  value  to  $250  each,  being 
an  advance  on  the  offer  of  less  than  twelve  months  pre- 
viously of  three  millions  and  a  half  of  dollars,  and  it 
was  for  this  sum,  less  a  small  amount  of  stock  held  by  a 
handful  of  American  shareholders,  to  retain  the  charter 
— that  the  sale  was  effected. 

The  railroad  on  the  Isthmus  is  a  sine  qua  non  for  the 
building  of  a  canal.  M.  de  Lesseps'  concession  from 
the  government  of  Colombia  for  the  construction  of  a 
tide  level  canal  expires  in  1892,  but  long  ere  that  time 
his  company  will  have  gone  into  insolvency  and  the 
work  done  under  that  concession  will  revert  to  the 
government  of  Colombia.*  Since  the  Canal  Company 
became  the  proprietors  of  the  railroad  it  has  been 
thoroughly  equipped  with  a  first-class  plant,  such  as 
powerful  engines,  new  and  comfortable  cars,  and  many 
things  that  were  absolutely  necessary.  Quite  apart  from 
these,  miles  of  new  sidings  have  been  put  in,  and  a  good 
harbor  has  been  created,  at  Christophe,  Colon;  all  of 
which  doubtless  will  be  to  the  great  advantage  and  profit 
of  the  future  owners  of  the  road.  The  government  of 
the  United  States  of  Colombia  is  thoroughly  in  earnest 

*  This  was  written  before  the  failure  iu  1888.       A'    ,    •    /  /  ^ 

-/)      .■        ■  ,       ■■      'Ji(S/ 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  155 

regarding  its  claim  for  a  percentage  on  that  sale.  Its 
claim  is  a  valid  one ;  the  road  is  on  Colombian  territory,  .,^_^ 
and  there  can  be  no  question  but  that  eventually  the 
government  "will  get  their  money.  Under  the  original 
concession  to  the  Panama  Railroad  Company  the  road 
reverts  to  the  government  after  a  given  time.  That  time 
was  extended  for  a  monetary  consideration,  and  prob-  * 

ably  it  may  be  extended  again.     Certain  it  is  the  govern- 
ment is  master  of  the  situation,  and  they  clearly  have 
right  on  their  side.     On  the  Panama  side  the  railway 
company  have  a  lot  of  valuable  plant,  in  the  shape  of 
machine  shops,  paint  shops  and  the  like.     Within  the    a^ 
last  few  years  new  and  excellent  stations  have  been     Q*» 
built,   both  in  Panama  and  Colon,   and  the  improve"  ^^  ^-,  ^ 
ments  on  the  road  are  marked,  and  consequently  val- 
uable. 

In  concluding  this  chapter  on  the  Panama  Railway,  it 
may  be  well  to  cite  a  fact  not  generally  known.  Great 
Britain  could  have  controlled  that  most  important  high- 
way, but  with  an  apathy  born  of  lamentable  ignorance, 
the  opportunity  was  lost,  and  the  control  became  essen- 
tially American,  under  the  treaty  of  1846,  in  which  the 
United  States  of  America  guaranteed  the  sovereignty  of 
the  State  of  Panama.  John  Bull  woke  up  to  find  that  a 
magnificent  opportunity  had  slipped  through  his  fingers, 
and  that  his  keen,  quick-witted  American  cousins  had 
seized  upon  it.-4sThe  treaty  of  1846  at  a  later  period  was 
amplified  and  confirmed.  This  guaranteeing  the  sover- 
eighty  of  a  foreign  State  I  believe  is  somewhat  opposed 
to  the  so-called  Monroe  doctrine  of  the  United  States  of  ^ 

America,  but  in  the  instance  of  the  State  of  Panama,  it        ^f^ 
is  a  fact  and  the  treaty  is  still  in  force.     I  say  the  treaty       \^ 
"is  in  force;"  but  whether  the  reduction  of  the  sover-    ^^ 
eign  State  of  Panama  to  a  federal  district  by  National     ^ 
legislation  in  Bogota  alters  the  status  of  that  treaty,  I  ^^ -# 
am  unable  to  say.    Panama  was  deprived  of  her  sovr. 
ereignty  in  the  spring^ol  1885.     This  had  been  foreseen 
"and  commented  upon  in  the  American  papers— particu-     - 
larly  by  the  New  York  Sun — in  the  fall  of  1884.     Many       "    - 
then  resident  on  the  Isthmus  thought  that  it  was  but  a 


156  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

preliminary  to  handing  over  that  strip  of  Colombia  to 
others  at  some  later  period — i.  e.  to  la  belle  France. 

Let  the  future  be  what  it  may,  the  Panama  Railroad 
controls  that  Isthmus,  and  will  control  it  as  long  as 
there  is  no  canal  there;  and  the  probabilities  of  M.  de 
Lesseps  completing  even  a  locked  canal  there  are  about 
as  remote  as  his  construction  of  a  tramway  to  the  moon. 

As  long  as  Eads'  company  do  not  build  their  ship  rail- 
way, or  the  Nicaragua  Canal  Company  fail  to  dig  their 
ditch  across  Nicaragua,  the  Panama  Railroad  will  have 
an  immense  value ;  but  the  very  day  that  either  of  the 
enterprises  alluded  to  become  accomplished  facts,  the 
Panama  Railroad  will  be  practically  valueless,  and  for 
the  following  reasons:  The  steam  companies  which 
have  been  paying  one-half  of  their  whole  freights  to  the 
Panama  Railroad  Company  for  carrying  goods  forty- 
seven  miles,  will  not  turn  one-half  of  their  traffic 
receipts  into  the  treasury  of  that  corporation.  Their 
vessels  will  steam  through  the  Nicaragua  Canal  and 
save  the  money  now  paid  to  the  Panama  Railroad  Com- 
pany.    The  railroad  will  then  be  abandoned. 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  Americans  built  the 
railway  in  early  days  in  the  face  of  a  bad  climate,  dis- 
ease, death,  and  difficulties  that  seemed  insurmountable; 
now  that  the  sons  of  enterprising  America  have  taken 
hold  of  the  Nicaragua  Canal  scheme,  there  can  be  no 
question  in  the  minds  of  any  of  those  who  are  familiar 
with  the  subject  of  trans-Isthmian  transit  that  the  Nic- 
aragua Canal  will  become  a  fact  long  ere  the  Panama 
Canal  Company  is  in  shape  to  admit  even  of  the  passage 
of  a  small  steamer  from  ocean  to  ocean,  either  as  a  lock 
or  tide-level  canal. 


t 


/ 1 


Small  Boy,  Clad  in  Native  Modesty.     Suburbs  of  Panama. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CHINATOWN,  PANAMA — SHOPS,  AND  JOSS  HOUSE — MEN  AND 
WOMEN — CONFUCIAN  PHILOSOPHY,  QUO  AD  CHKISTIANITY 
IN  TIMES  OF  DOUBT — THE  CHINAMEN  A  HAKD-WOKKING, 
PEACEFUL  LOT — BLENDING  OF  RACES. 

On  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  there  is  a  large  colony  of 
Chinamen.  Chinatown,  in  the  city  of  Panama,  repre- 
sents an  important  section  of  it,  and  before  beginning  a 
description  of  it,  I  shall  state  that,  long  before  knowing 
the  Chinese,  I  had  heard  a  great  deal  about  their  abnor- 
malities SO  called.  Upon  getting  to  San  Francisco  I  paid 
Chinatown  a  visit,  saw  the  Joss  house  and  their  shops. 
I  had  heard  and  read  so  much  about  the  wickedness  of 
these  people  that  I  was  anxious  to  know  in  what  shape 
they  appeared.  Judging  from  the  newspaper  reports  of 
them  they  suffer  from  all  sorts  of  fearful  diseases  of 
which  we  have  no  experience.  While  in  San  Francisco 
I  made  inquiries  and  had  a  good  look  at  them.  Save 
that  their  stature  is  not  quite  that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race,  they  seem  to  have  much  in  common  with  the  lat- 
ter, in  that  they  have  two  arms,  two  legs,  and  the  usual 
appendages  of  a  well  constructed  body.  While  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia,  and  while  the  Canadian  Pacific  road  was 
building,  I  learned  from  Mr.  Onderdonk,  an  American 
contractor,  that  he  was  thoroughly  satisfied  with  his 
Chinamen.  They  worked  for  about  two-thirds  the  pay 
of  an  ordinary  white  man,  and  he  more  than  got  an 
equivalent  for  his  money.  As  a  class  they  were  obedi- 
ent, easily  directed,  and  gave  but  little  trouble.  While 
in  Washington  Territory  at  one  of  the  huge  saw  mills  on 
Puget  Sound  I  also  asked  about  the  Chinese  element, 
and  found  that  employers  of  labor  there  had  perfect  con- 
fidence in  them — and  for  the  best  of  reasons,      John 

157 


158  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

Chinaman  was  always  at  his  work.  If  by  any  chance 
he  was  detained  or  ill  he  sent  another  Chinaman  to  take 
his  place,  and  there  was  no  break.  They  had  nothing  to 
do  with  strikes  and  were  a  most  satisfactory  element  to 
the  manufacturer.  The  ordinary  white  laborer,  usu- 
ally a  foreigner,  was  bumptious,  unruly,  impertinent 
and  generally  troublesome,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  the 
mill  owners  had  the  Chinamen  with  them  they  could 
not  have  controlled  the  situation  and  their  difficulties 
would  have  been  great.  Upon  getting  into  Southern 
California,  also  on  a  holiday  trip,  I  inquired  about  the 
Chinese  there.  I  found  that  they  were  the  same  peace- 
ful, hard-working,  law  abiding  citizens  as  in  British 
Columbia.  In  British  Columbia  many  of  them  have 
purchased  property,  built  homes  and  have  settled  down. 
A  firm  defender  of  the  Chinese  in  Southern  California 
was  the  late  Col.  W.  W.  Hollister.  He  recognized 
their  value  and  worth,  and  being  a  man  who  had  the 
courage  of  his  convictions,  he  advocated  their  employ- 
ment. As  far  as  I  could  gather  from  my  inquiries  at 
that  time,  the  Chinaman  has  no  vices  to  which  we 
whites  are  strangers.     Quite  the  contrary. 

During  my  five  years  on  the  Isthmus  as  a  practitioner 
of  medicine  I  saw  John  Chinaman  "  at  home."  In  fact 
I  had  the  largest  Chinese  clientele  in  Panama,  and  I  had 
every  opportunity  of  knowing  them — seeing  them  ill  and 
well,  and  under  all  sorts  of  circumstances — and  where  I 
could  form  an  estimate  of  them  as  they  live.  I  can  sum- 
marize five  years'  experience  by  saying  that  I  never  saw 
but  one  drunken  Chinaman,  and  that  I  never  met  with 
but  one  case  of  constitutional  disease  among  them, 
while  I  treated  no  end  of  it  among  the  whites.  The 
Chinamen  at  Panama  are  a  hard-working,  peaceful,  law 
abiding  lot  of  citizens.  Many  of  them  arrived  there 
from  China  having  no  knowledge  of  Spanish,  but  in  an 
incredibly  short  time  they  picked  up  a  smattering  of  the 
language,  quite  enough  for  the  purpose  of  trade,  and 
then  they  blossom  out  as  shopkeepers.  The  wholesale 
merchants  of  Panama  do  not  hesitate  to  give  these 
comparative    strangers  credit.    They  pay    their  debts 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  159 

promptly,  and,  speaking  from  my  knowledge  of  one  of 
the  largest  wholesale  houses  there,  whose  trade  with  the 
Chinese  merchants  in  Panama  on  the  line  of  the  Pan- 
ama Canal  and  in  Colon  has  been  enormous,  they  never 
have  lost  a  dollar  by  them.  They  are  models  of  pa- 
tience, they  are  perpetual  workers,  and  they  are  a 
respectful  class.  It  is  quite  true  that  some  of  them 
smoke  opium,  but  that  is  the  equivalent  of  our  stimula- 
tion, save  that  they  do  not  make  the  exhibitions  of 
themselves  that  we  do  when  under  the  influence  of 
spirits.  A  few  of  the  Chinamen  of  Panama  have  their 
wives  with  them.  Many  of  them  form  quasi-unions 
with  the  Indian  women  of  the  country,  and  the  offspcipg 
of  such  unions  to  me  wei'e  most  interesting.  Such  chil- 
dren have  straight  black  hair,  black  eyes^  and  olive_ 
skins,  while  the  flattened  nose  of 'the  Chinaman  gave 
place  to  the  straighter  or  Greciannose.-i»£~ttie  Indian. 
They  are  exceedingly  bright  little  people,  and  I  remem- 
ber many  of  them  among  my  patients.  I  can  recall  no 
case  of  cruelty  among  the  men  towards  their  wives. 

They  had  a  Joss  house  in  Chinatown,  and  during  the 
high  festivals,  flags  with  fierce  looking  dragons  hung  out 
in  front,  and  the  music  which  they  evolved  from  their 
extraordinary  looking  banjos,  tom-toms  and  the  dike 
was  something  wonderful.  It  is  said  that  by  the  burn- 
ing of  fire  crackers  and  the  playing  of  their  Chinese 
music  they  can  expel  spirits,  and  I  am  quite  willing  to 
believe  it,  for  no  respectable  spirit  would  stay  where 
there  is  any  Chinese  music. 

As  philosophers  and  logicians  they  probably  are  un- 
equalled. A  few  of  them  professed  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion,  but  the  majority  of  them  had  their  Chinese 
gods  in  their  quarters,  before  which  they  burned  their 
little  punk-sticks,  the  equivalent  of  incense.  Immedi- 
ately following  the  great  earthquake  of  September,  1882, 
and  while  the  smaller  ones  were  going  on,  I  was  called  to 
see  a  sick  Chinaman  over  a  Chinese  eating  shop.  I  got 
up  into  a  room  where  several  Chinamen  slept  on  their 
hard,  uncomfortable  beds.  After  seeing  my  patient  I 
noticed  a  combination  of  heathenism  and  civilization 


160  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

that  amused  me  considerably.  There  evidently  were  a 
few  Chinamen  in  that  building  who  professedly  were 
Roman  Catholics,  while  the  others  had  remained  true  to 
their  old  loves.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  before  an  image 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  they  had  a  number  of  blessed  tapers, 
while  on  the  same  shelf  was  a  large  Chinese  god  sur- 
rounded by  inscriptions  and  the  like,  before  whom 
Chinese  incense  was  burning.  It  struck  me  as  being  an 
extraordinary  combination  of  religions,  and  I  couldn't 
help  thinking  that  Avhile  John  had  adopted  the  new 
belief,  he  seemed  to  have  some  doubts  about  it,  and,  to 
be  safe,  was  trying  to  propitiate  the  Virgin  Mary  with- 
out offending  Confucius. 

Apropos  of  the  smoking  of  opium,  it  is  largely  the 
bane  of  the  lower  classes  of  Chinese.  Generally,  "once 
an  opium  smoker,  always  an  opium  smoker,"  and  its 
effects  are  most  disastrous.  To  those  interested  in  such 
matters  I  cannot  do  better  than  recommend  to  them  the 
reading  of  De  Quincey's  admirable  book.*  There  is  a 
fact  in  connection  with  this  smoking  of  opium  that  is  no 
credit  to  the  English  nation.  Any  one  familiar  with  the 
history  of  the  opium  traffic,  if  absolutely  truthful,  will 
admit  that  opium  was  forced  on  China  by  England,  and 
that  a  huge  revenue  does,  or  did,  accrue  to  the  Old 
Country  from  dealing  in  that  vile  drug.  Strange  as  it 
may  seem,  the  government  of  China  has  protested 
against  this  most  iniquitous  trade  again  and  again: 
While  we  are  condemning  Chinamen  for  their  smoking 
of  opium,  let  us  cast  our  eyes  toward  England  and  place 
the  blame  where  it  shovild  rest. 

The  Chinese  themselves  have  a  curious  version  of  the 
story  of  the  introduction  of  opium  into  the  country.  I 
will  try  to  tell  it  as  one  of  them  told  it  to  me.  "Wen 
Inglishman  come  China  he  blingee  opium :  no  man  hab 
much  food  den  an'  Inglishman  he  say,  I  takee  food  an' 
Chineeman  he  eatee  opium :  opium  allee  same  fills  dem. 
Den  Inglishman,  he  say,  Chineeman  he  go  sleep ;  bime- 
bye  he  die.     But  Chineeman  he  heap  smart.     He  makee 

*  "  Confessious  of  au  Opium  Eater,"  De  Quincey.    London. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANA3fA.  161 

dat  opium  fo'  smoke.  Den  he  no  hungly  an'  he  no  sleep. 
So  Inglishman,  he  one  big  fool." 

Now  let  us  take  John  Chinaman  at  home,  as  I 
have  seen  him  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  times  on  the 
Isthmus.  Generally  he  had  a  little  shop  in  which  gro- 
ceries and  all  sorts  of  things  were  sold ;  off  his  shop  was 
his  sleeping  room  of  the  simplest,  and  oftentimes  his  bed 
consisted  of  a  wooden  platform  resting  on  a  few  boxes 
on  end.  This  was  covered  by  a  piece  of  cheap  matting, 
while  one  or  two  blocks  of  wood,  with  hollowed  out 
places  to  receive  the  head,  formed  the  pillow.  That  was 
John's  couch.  His  clothing,  as  we  are  all  aware,  is  of  a 
simple  type,  and  his  baggy  trowsers  are  well  known. 
Certainly  they  are  cool  and  do  not  interfere  with  ventila- 
tion. Their  cooking  is  simple.  They,  in  common  with 
the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  on  the  Isthmus,  use  small 
braziers  and  burn  charcoal,  and  on  these  a  pot  or  pan  is 
placed  to  make  some  savory  mess.  A  great  staple  of 
John's  diet  is  rice,  and  the  way  in  which  he  uses  his 
chopsticks  is  something  remarkable.  In  such  of  the  rooms 
as  are  occupied  by  opium  smokers  they  had  opium  pipes, 
a  little  extract  of  opium,  a  lamp  and  a  wire.  They  take 
the  wire  and  thrust  it  into  the  extract  of  opium,  getting 
out  a  quantity  about  half  the  size  of  a  pea.  This  they 
cook  in  the  flame  of  the  lamp  until  it  is  moulded  into  a 
hard  button,  when  it  is  stuck  on  the  pipe,  and  then 
follows  the  inhalation  of  the  smoke. 

During  their  holidays  an  immense  number  of  fire 
crackers  and  Chinese  bombs  were  used;  in  fact,  one 
would  have  thought  there  was  a  bombardment  going  on. 
Then  it  was  that  John  Chinaman  came  out  in  his  best — 
silk  garments  of  various  colors,  rich  turbans,  ornamental 
sandals,  silk  stockings,  and  the  like.  Of  course  I  am 
referring  to  the  upper  class  Chinese.  In  fact,  there 
were  no  end  of  swells  in  striking  apparel. 

The  inhuman  cry  that  has  gone  up  in  the  United 
States — and  I  regret  to  say  in  some  Bi'itish  provinces — 
against  these  harmless  citizens,  is  a  disgrace  to  our 
modern  civilization.  It  is  the  more  a  disgrace  as  it  is  a 
concession  to  a  class  of  men  whose  chief  vocation  in  life 
11 


162  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

is  to  foment  trouble,  interfere  with  progress  and  do 
everything  that  they  can  to  disturb  work  and  cause 
embarrassment . 

There  is  one  pecuharity  about  Uncle  Sam  that  has  caused 
me  considerable  thought,  and  it  is  this :  while  he  passes 
an  exclusion  bill  for  the  Chinese,  he  allows  his  consuls  in 
Spanish  America  to  be  consuls  for  China.  It  certainly  is 
a  left-handed  sort  of  a  compliment  to  those  people,  which 
one  may  interpret  thus:  "John  Chinaman  is  not  good 
for  me  or  mine  and  you  shall  have  him,  but  as  far  as  it 
lies  in  my  power  I  shall  look  after  him."  This  is  the 
exact  status  of  the  Chinese  question  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  and  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America. 


1.  Island  of  Morro,  Gulf  of  Panama. 

2.  Bridge,  Old  Panama,  Fifteenth  Century. 

3.  American  Dredge,  Panama  Canal,  near  Bohio  Soldado. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  LAWS  OF  COLOMBIA  AND  THEIR  APPLICATION  AT  PANA- 
MA— HOW  A  MAN  SUSPECTED  OP  MURDER  WAS  SHOT  ON 
SIGHT — A  SOLDIER  WHO  SHOT  A  AVOMAN — HIS  IMPRISON- 
MENT— THE  PANAMA  PRISON — SEVEN  AMERICANS  IM- 
PRISONED NINE  MONTHS  WITHOUT  REDRESS — NO  CAPITAL 
PUNISKMENT — THE   CHAIN-GANG  AT  PANAMA. 

I  HAVE  been  told  by  a  gentleman  who  is  competent  to 
give  an  opinion,  and  in  whose  word  I  have  implicit  con- 
fidence, that  the  code  of  civil  procedure  of  the  United 
States  of  Colombia  is  excellent.  It  is  claimed  that  it  is 
quite  the  equal  of  the  historic  "  Code  Napoleon,"  than 
which  there  is  no  better  law.  The  law  on  the  statute 
books  and  its  application  at  Panama,  are  opposite  condi- 
tions. I  can  best  make  this  point  plain  by  citing  a  case. 
In  one  of  the  hotels  beyond  the  market  a  man  had  been 
killed,  and  it  was  supposed  that  he  had  been  killed  by 
an  Italian.  The  matter  was  turned  over  to  the  Panama 
police.  For  days  they  could  get  no  information  of  the 
murderer.  At  last  it  was  reported  that  he  was  on  one  of 
the  islands  in  the  bay  in  hiding.  Policemen,  armed  with 
Remington  rifles,  were  sent  down  to  find  him.  They 
saw  the  man  hiding  behind  some  bushes,  fired  and 
killed  him.  They  brought  the  body  up  to  the  city  at 
dead  low  water  and  landed  it  on  the  edge  of  the  reef. 
They  fastened  a  rope  to  his  heels  and  dragged  him  over 
the  ledges  of  rock  for  fully  half  a  mile.  Upon  reaching 
the  Taller  the  body  was  thrown  into  a  cart,  taken  out  to 
the  cemetery  and  buried.  Following  that,  the  judicial 
inquiry  was  next  in  order. 

Another  case  in  point  was  that  of  a  soldier  who,  while 
on  duty  watching  some  of  the  unfortunates  in  the  chain 
gang,  was  annoyed  by  a  woman.     She  persisted  in  both- 

163 


164  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

ering  him,  when  he  levelled  his  Remington  and  shot  her 
on  the  spot.  It  was  a  main  thoroughfare.  The  bullet 
went  through  her,  went  through  a  woman  back  of  her, 
in  the  line  of  fire,  and  broke  the  leg  of  a  third.  The  first 
two  died  and  the  third  had  her  leg  amputated  at  the 
Charity  Hospital.  Immediately  following  there  was  a 
terrific  hue  and  cry;  the  friends  of  the  "  late  departed  " 
ran  the  man  down,  he  was  cast  into  prison  and  tried, 
and  despite  the  facts  in  the  case,  his  imprisonment  con- 
sisted of  exactly  thirty  days  in  the  common  jail. 

The  above  mentioned  cases  are  no  doubt  extreme  ones, 
but  to  my  knowledge  they  happened.  The  laws  on  the 
statute  book  are  excellent,  but  it  will  be  true  to  say  that 
justice  there,  like  kissing,  is  a  matter  of  favoritism.  At 
other  times,  renderings  in  court  are  brought  about,  by  a 
magical  influence  that  I  shall  not  dilate  upon. 

In  speaking  about  the  battery  of  Panama  I  referred  to 
the  fact  that  it  forms  the  upper  part  of  the  Panama 
prison.  Of  all  the  dreary  places,  that  prison  really  is 
the  worst.  It  is  a  huge  mass  of  masonry  with  gratings, 
facing  a  small  plaza.  The  men  sleep  side  by  side  on  a 
rough  board  platform.  The  place  is  constantly  filled  by 
the  most  disgraceful  of  odors,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
there  are  no  closets.  Imprisonment  there  is  little  better 
than  death. 

Some  years  ago  a  keg  containing  $50,000  in  Amer- 
^  j.ican  gold  reached  the  Isthmus.  While  in  charge 
vjsT  "^of  the  Panama  Railroad  Company  in  Panama,  the 
jVr  x^  keg  disappeared.  A  munber  of  Americans  were 
arrested  and  thrown  into  prison,  seven  of  them  all  told. 
I  had  occasion  to  see  one  or  two  of  them  in  my  profes- 
sional capacity,  and  found  them  shut  up  in  a  small 
vaulted  room  with  a  narrow  slit  in  the  wall  facing  the 
sea.  When  the  door  communicating  with  an  outside 
passage  was  closed  they  were  in  a  damp,  noisome  vault. 
Their  imprisonment  was  simply  iniquitous,  for  there  was 
no  proof  against  them — and  yet  those  unfortunate  men 
were  shut  up  there  for  months  without  being  brought  to 
trial,  or  having  any  specific  charge  formulated  against 
them.     It  was  thought  then,  and  it  is  thought  now,  that 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  165 

their  arrest  was  simply  to  screen  the  real  culprits.  De- 
spite the  fact  that  representations  were  made  to  the 
American  government,  those  men  languished  in  that 
prison  for  months  without  redress.  After  a  time  they 
were  put  "in  liberty,"  to  use  the  term  in  vogue  there, 
and  never  received  any  indemnity.  That  is  another 
illustration  of  Colombian  justice. 

And  I  may  also  state  that  one  or  two  British  subjects 
were  likewise  locked  up  for  months  and  months  without 
any  specific  charge  being  brought  against  them,  and  de- 
spite the  fact  that  the  British  consul  protested  against  it. 

Of  the  Americans  who  were  imprisoned  at  that  time 
several  are  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to-day,*  and  from 
the  fact  that  they  hold  responsible  positions  it  seems 
safe  to  infer  that  the  public  never  suspected  them.  That 
money  was  stolen  between  Saturday  night  and  Tuesday 
morning.  The  Sunday  referred  to  was  a  holiday  and  the 
Monday  following  likewise  was  a  holiday,  and  on  Tues- 
day morning  the  money  was  gone.  Of  course  it  made 
a  great  excitement.  It  was  $50,000  in  American  gold 
that  had  been  sent  to  the  Isthmus  to  be  transferred 
to  an  American  man-of-war,  then  in  the  harbor,  to  pay 
her  crew.  The  money  disappeared,  and  the  individuals 
referred  to  were  arrested  and  cast  into  prison.  The 
persons  to  whom  suspicion  pointed  went  as  free  as  air. 
It  is  said  that  that  money  left  Panama  on  an  outgoing 
steamer  for  California,  that  an  individual  left  his  house  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  got  into  a  boat  accompanied 
by  a  heavy  package,  and  went  off  in  the  steamer.  Sub- 
sequent crookedness  in  the  same  man's  career  would  lead 
one  to  believe  that  suspicion  pointed  its  finger  in  the 
right  direction.  Certain  it  is  that  from  that  day  to  this 
nothing  has  ever  been  heard  of  that  $50,000,  and  the 
Americans  who  were  cast  into  prison  never  got  any  in- 
demnification, and  doubtless  they  were  as  innocent  as 
children  unborn. 

I  simply  cite  this  case  as  to  the  peculiarities  of  law, 
not  tabulated  in  the  civil  code  of  Colombia. 

*  1888. 


166  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

There  is  no  capital  punishment  in  Colombia ;  ten  years 
is  the  maximum  imprisonment  if  a  man  kills  a  dozen 
men.  It  was  Isthmian  experience  that  the  only  individ- 
uals who  got  the  maximum  punishment  for  murder  were 
foreigners. 

I  can  remember  one  case  where  a  Jamaican  had 
murdered  a  woman,  and  he  got  the  full  sentence  under 
the  law.  During  my  long  residence  there  I  never 
knew  a  native  of  the  country  to  receive  it.  On  the 
other  hand,  I  can  recall  a  case  where  an  unfortunate 
American,  who  had  been  trading  in  a  schooner  to  some 
of  the  ports  north  of  the  Isthmus,  on  the  Atlantic  side, 
had  been  detected  in  fraud  and  then  arrested.  It  was 
alleged  that  a  prominent  merchant  in  Colon  had  lost 
some  seven  or  eight  hundred  dollars  by  the  fraudulent 
practices  of  this  American.  I  have  already  told  you  of 
the  soldier  that  received  thirty  days  for  killing  two 
women.  This  American  was  brought  to  trial,  and, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  his  prosecutor  was  absolutely  de- 
void of  conscience  and  that  he  possessed  groat  political 
influence,  the  unfortunate  man  was  consigned  to  a  fate 
worse  than  death,  by  a  sentence  of  three  years  in  the 
Panama  prison.  Every  effort  was  made  by  liis  consul 
to  obtain  a  diminution  of  the  sentence,  by  showing  exten- 
uating circumstances,  but  nothing  came  of  it.  If  he 
lived  it  was  to  be  three  years  in  one  of  those  noisome 
vaults,  breathing  the  foulest  air,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
a  small  cask  received  everything  through  the  day,  to  be 
emptied  only  at  night ;  and  to  be  fed  on  a  diet  not  fit  for 
a  dog.  Such  was  his  sentence.  Fortunately  death  re- 
leased him.  He  went  in  a  well,  strong  man.  Such  sur- 
roundings, such  air  and  such  food  terminated  in  disease, 
and  his  troubles  were  over.  This  case  is  well  known 
upon  the  Isthmus.  I  do  not  mention  names,  but  I  could 
do  so.    It  was  iniquitous  from  beginning  to  end. 

Such  of  the  prisoners  as  are  fit  for  hard  labor  are  sent 
out  in  the  streets  of  Panama  to  sweep  them  and  to  do 
any  sort  of  work  that  may  be  necessary.  All  of  those 
that  have  been  committed  for  murder  wear  a  chain.  It 
is  secured  below  by  an  anklet  and  above  by  a  piece  of 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  167 

rope.  They  work  under  a  guard  of  soldiers  of  the  type 
of  that  man  who  shot  the  two  women.  One  night  when 
in  my  room  in  the  Grand  Hotel  I  heard  a  clank,  clank, 
clank,  and  I  looked  out  to  see  some  of  the  unfortunate 
fellows  going  by  in  the  dark,  carrying  a  late  comrade 
out  to  the  cemetery.  A  man  with  a  lantern  led,  and  the 
military  guard  followed. 

While  on  the  subject  of  laws,  some  legislation  that 
was  enacted  this  year*  may  prove  interesting  to  my 
readers.  I  have  thought  it  well  to  quote  the  law  in 
Spanish,  word  for  word,  as  it  was  pubhshed,  and  below 
it  to  give  a  careful  translation : 

"Art.  34.  El  matrimonio  contraido  conforme  a  los  ritos  de 
la  Keligion  Catolica  anula  ipso  jure  el  mati-imonio  puramente 
civil,  celebrado  antes  por  los  coutrayentes  con  otra  persona. 

"Art.  35.  Para  los  efectos  meramente  civiles,  la  Ley  recon- 
oce  la  legitimidad  de  los  hijos  concebidos  antes  de  que  se 
anule  un  matrimonio  civil  a  virtud  de  lo  dispuesto  en  el 
articulo  anterior. 

"  Art.  36.  El  hombre  que  liabiendose  casado  civilmente,  se 
case  luego  con  otra  mujer  con  arreglo  a  los  ritos  de  la  Religion 
Catolica  es  obligado  a  suministrar  alimentos  congruos  a  la 
primera  mujer  y  a  los  liijos  habidos  en  ella,  mientras  esta  no 
case  catolicamente."  t 

This  is  the  translation : 

"Article  34.  Marriage  contracted  according  to  the  rites  of 
the  Catholic  Religion  of  itself  annuls  (ipso  jure)  a  purely  civil 
marriage  previously  celebrated  by  the  contractants  with  other 
persons. 

"Article  35.  For  the  purely  civil  effects  of  the  Law,  it 
acknowledges  the  legitimacy  of  children  conceived  prior  to 
the  annulation  of  a  civil  marriage  by  virtue  of  the  provision 
of  the  preceding  article. 

"  Article  36.  The  man  who  having  married  civilly  marries 
subsequently  with  another  woman,  according  to  the  rights  of 
the  Catholic  Religion,  is  obliged  to  provide  maintenance  for 
the  first  wife  and  for  the  children  had  by  her,  so  long  as  she 
does  not  marry  according  to  the  Catholic  Rite." 

*  1888.  t  El  Cronista,  Panama,  of  March  24,  1888. 


1 G8  FIVE  YJSAES  A  T  PANAMA. 

While  describing  the  churches  of  Panama  I  referred 
to  the  fact  that  the  Church  of  Rome  had  been  dispos- 
sessed, and  that  priests  and  sisters  of  charity  had  been 
driven  out  of  the  country,  and  that  the  church  had  been 
despoiled,  presumably  for  the  benefit  of  the  government. 
Of  late  years  Rome  has  been  feeling  her  way  very  cau- 
tiously, strengthening  her  hands  at  every  turn,  until 
to-day  she  feels  her  strength  to  be  such  that,  according 
to  the  laws  quoted  above,  civil  marriages  of  the  past 
have  been  annulled.  If  there  is  one  thing  more  than 
another  regarding  which  the  Church  of  Rome  has  been 
as  "firm  as  a  rock,"  it  has  been  on  the  question  of 
divorce — that  once  married  nothing  could  undo  the  mar- 
riage, save  the  cause  of  adultery.  It  would  now  seem 
that  according  to  the  laws  of  Colombia  the  civil  mar- 
riages that  have  been  in  force  for  many  long  years,  can 
be  broken,  by  any  one  who  wishes  to  put  from  him  his 
wife,  if  the  marriage  was  not  according  to  the  Cath- 
olic rite.  To  all  lovers  of  liberty  properly  so  called 
this  retrograde  movement  in  Colombia,  whose  boast  is 
that  her  laws  are  the  counterpart  of  the  great  republic  of 
the  north,  will  cause  both  surprise  and  pain,  especially 
when  they  think  that  Rome  has  struck  this  blow  at  the 
most  sacred  of  institutions. 

Under  the  laws  of  Colombia  the  press  was  at  full  lib- 
erty to  discuss  any  subject.  Strange  to  say,  this  law 
has  been  repealed,  and  under  severe  penalties  the  press 
is  prohibited  from  publishing  anything  that  reflects 
upon  the  civil  administration  or  the  Church  of  Rome. 
In  fact,  to  such  a  pass  have  things  come  on  the  Isthmus 
that  the  press  is  no  more  free  than  is  one  of  those  un- 
fortunates in  the  prison  at  Panama.  All  of  this  seems 
the  more  incredible  when  we  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  a 
purely  republican  form  of  government.  The  influences 
back  of  the  executive  are  well  known.  Things  have 
taken  such  shape  in  that  country  that  to  be  a  free  mason 
means  that  a  man  cannot  be  buried  in  consecrated 
ground,  and  the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  introducing 
the  iniquitous  laws  dissolving  civil  marriages  are  well 
known  to  those  in  Bogota.     From  my  recent  visits  to 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  169 

the  Isthmus  and  from  information  received  from  there 
while  away,  I  personally  am  of  the  opinion  that  this 
iron-handed  legislation — this  violation  of  the  rights  of 
individuals  and  of  the  press — can  have  but  one  end — a 
revolution  that  will  shake  that  country  to  its  centre; 
and  rightly  so.  It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  any  in- 
telligent people  who  have  been  as  free  as  the  air  of 
heaven  can  reconcile  themselves  to  legislation  of  this 
type,  which  is  unworthy  of  the  Autocrat  of  all  the 
Russias. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

TUE  GREAT  EARTHQUAKE  OF  SEPTEMBER  7,  1882 — EFFECTS  AT 
PANAMA,  CKUCES,  COLON  AND  TOBOGA — TIDAL  WAVE  IN 
TUE  GULF  OF  DARIEN — LOSS  OF  LIFE,  ETC. — EARLIER 
EARTHQUAKES   IN   COLOMBIA. 

On  the  morning  of  September  7,  1882,  I  awoke  fancy- 
ing that  some  one  had  got  into  my  room  in  the  hotel  and 
had  shaken  my  bed  or  got  under  it.  I  sat  up  in  bed, 
looked  about  the  room,  but  could  see  nothing,  for  there 
was  but  little  moonlight.  I  couldn't  understand  the  thing 
and  stepped  out  on  the  hotel  balcony.  While  standing 
on  that  balcony  trying  to  account  for  the  cause  that  had 
awakened  me,  the  whole  Jbuilding  trembled  violently, 
and  there  was  a  groaning,  crunching  noise  that  I  never 
shall  forget. 

The  balcony  that  I  was  on  was  some  forty-five  feet 
above  the  street.  Before  the  earthquake,  and  when  tak- 
ing my  room  on  that  floor  of  the  hotel,  I  had  looked 
around  to  see  what  to  do  in  case  of  fire.  As  soon  as 
the  terrible  vibration  began  I  stepped  over  the  railing  of 
the  balcony  and  down  on  the  railing  of  the  balcony  of 
the  adjoining  house,  then  jumped  to  the  floor,  and  ran 
its  full  length  as  rapidly  as  I  could.  On  getting  to  the 
end  there  was  a  house  some  ten  feet  below  me.  The 
only  idea  I  had  at  the  time  was  that  I  did  not  like  to  die 
like  a  rat  crushed  in  a  cage.  Having  had  no  experience 
with  earthquakes  within  the  tropics  I  didn't  then  realize 
that  it  was  one.  Following  the  violent  shake  all  was 
quiet,  and  I  retraced  my  steps,  climbed  up  the  balcony, 
and  got  to  the  upper  balcony  of  the  hotel.  My  neighbor 
in  the  room  adjoining  mine,  was  Senor  Don  Pedro 
Merino.  He  had  tried  to  escape  from  his  room  by  a 
door    leading  into  the  upper  hall,   but   the  door  was 

170 


TAMAIUND    GltOVE,   VlI.LACK    OF    RkSTINGUK,  li^LAND    OF  TOBOGA, 


FIV£:  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  171 

jammed,  and  he  couldn't  open  it.  He  came  to  the  door 
of  my  room,  saying  that  in  all  his  experience  in  Central 
America  he  never  had  felt  so  violent  a  shock.  I  went 
into  my  room,  and  as  soon  as  I  realized  it  was  an  earth- 
quake, I  looked  at  my  watch ;  it  was  3 :20.  My  bath  tub 
had  been  partially  filled  with  water  the  night  before  for 
my  morning  bath.  The  oscillation  of  the  building  had 
thrown  a  part  of  its  contents  over  the  floor,  bottles  were 
knocked  down,  others  were  broken,  and  the  ceiling  and 
walls  were  cracked.  In  places  parts  of  the  former  had 
fallen.  The  wall  of  that  strong  building  at  the  back, 
where  it  was  fully  two  feet  thick,  showed  a  crack  of 
nearly  two  inches.  We  dressed  as  hastily  as  possible  to 
get  out  into  the  open,  and  when  we  got  down  into  the 
lower  hall  found  the  servants  gathered  there.  The  build- 
ing that  we  lived  in  was  the  Surcursale,  or  annex  of  the 
Grand  Hotel,  and  was  in  the  highest  point  of  the  city. 
Hence  it  felt  the  vibration  more  than  buildings  lower 
down.  When  we  found  the  Colombian  servants  they 
were  sadly  frightened.  It  would  seem  that  when  the 
first  shock  came  they  opened  a  front  door  to  rush  out 
into  the  street,  but  did  not  do  so  as  the  tiles  on  the  house 
came  down  in  a  perfect  shower.  Immediately  following 
the  shock  and  before  we  had  walked  down  to  the  main 
plaza,  the  whole  city  was  alive  with  exclamations  of 
terror,  and  the  streets  were  full  of  excited  people,  many 
of  whom  had  candles.  We  got  into  the  plaza  a  little 
after  half  past  three — it  doesn't  take  people  long  to  dress 
when  earthquakes  are  about. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  scene  in  the  plaza.  It  was 
black  with  people  who  had  reached  there  in  safety,  and 
had  got  in  the  oi^en  and  away  from  buildings  that  were 
expected  to  fall.  There  was  still  a  little  light,  and  the 
moon  was  in  its  last  quarter.  The  hum  of  voices  there 
and  the  excitement  was  something  astonishing.  There 
they  were,  people  of  all  classes — black  and  white — some 
dressed,  and  some  very  hastily  dressed,  and  some  had 
brought  chairs  with  them.  An  elderly  lady  belonging 
to  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  distinguished  of  Colombian 
families  was  found  dead  sitting  in  her  chair.     It  was  an 


172  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

old  case  of  heart  disease,  and  it  simply  required  the 
excitement  to  kill  her. 

The  upper  part  of  the  wall,  making  the  front  of  the 
fagade  of  the  Cathedral,  had  been  shaken  into  the  plaza ; 
huge  masses  of  masonry  had  fallen  down  upon  the  stone 
steps  in  front  of  the  old  building,  breaking  them  and 
driving  them  into  the  earth.  The  Cabildo,  or  town  hall, 
was  wrecked.  The  lower  part  was  a  cloister  of  the  old 
time  Spanish  type,  with  columns  and  arches.  Above 
there  had  been  another  series  of  arches  giving  a  front 
balcony  with  its  roof.  The  latter  with  the  columns  had 
been  thrown  into  the  plaza,  and  many  of  them  were 
broken  into  fragments,  while  a  part  of  the  main  roof  of 
the  building  had  been  shaken  down  and  off.  Its  front 
was  wrecked.  The  Canal  company's  building,  while  it 
showed  no  visible  damage,  was  badly  cracked,  and  a 
repetition  of  a  shock  of  equal  intensity  probably  would 
have  thrown  part  of  it  down.  As  soon  as  a  little  day- 
light came  in,  it  was  found  that  the  arches  of  the  Cathe- 
dral had  been  badly  damaged. 

With  the  return  of  daylight  all  seemed  to  recover 
some  courage,  for  if  there  is  anything  that  unnerves  one, 
it  is  to  feel  the  earth  violently  tremble  under  one,  and 
hearing  buildings  groan.  There  was  a  vast  deal  of  dam- 
age done  in  the  city;  walls  had  been  thrown  down,  and 
there  had  been  some  accidents.  A  doctor  of  law  in  his 
fright  had  jumped  from  a  balcony  and  broken  his  leg. 
In  a  house  on  the  Calle  Real  a  man  and  his  wife  had  left 
their  bed  just  as  the  upper  wall  of  an  adjoining  building 
came  through  the  ceiling,  burying  it  under  the  debris.  I 
should  also  say  that  at  the  Cathedral  a  number  of  the 
Saints  had  been  shaken  from  their  niches  in  its  front. 
The  old  tower  of  the  Chapel  of  Ease,  opposite  the  Quinta 
of  Santa  Rita,  had  been  shaken  down,  burying  a  wooden 
shanty  from  which  the  family  had  just  escaped.  The 
only  fatality  in  the  city  of  Panama  was  that  of  the  old 
lady  who  died  in  the  plaza. 

As  the  morning  advanced  we  all  became  more  col- 
lected, and  speculation  was  rife  as  to  the  exact  starting- 
point  of  the  earthquake,  the  majority  fancying  that  the 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  173 

wave  had  travelled  southward  from  Central  America. 
At  that    time    the  cable  ship   Silvertoivn  was    in   the 
harbor,  a  huge  vessel  belonging  to  the  India  Rubber, 
Gutta  Percha  and  Telegraph  Company,  of  London,  Eng- 
land.    She  had  just  completed  the  laying  of  the  cables 
of  the  Central  and  South  American  Telegraph  Company, 
from  Peru  to  the  Isthmus  and  thence  to  Mexico.     The 
chief  of  the  cable  staff,  Mr.  Robert  Kaye  Gray,  F.  R.  G. 
S. ,  was  on  shore.     After  hearing  all  that  was  to  be  ascer- 
tained regarding  the  earthquake  and  examining  a  num- 
ber of  buildings,  together  with  my  quarters  in  the  hotel, 
which  he  considered  had  suffered  most,  he  expressed  the 
opinion  that  its  origin  was  local.     The  cable  of  the  West 
India  and  Panama  Telegraph  Company  from  Colon  to 
the  West  Indies,  and  thence  to  Florida  in  the  States,  had 
been  broken.    Thus  we  were  shut  off  from  that  side,  and 
could  get  no  news  from  the  outside  world.     The  Central 
and  South  American  Cable  had  been   successfully  laid 
but  it  still  was  in  the  hands  of  contractors,  or  Mr.  Gray's 
company.    The  interests  of  the  Cable  Company  proper 
were  represented  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Steams,  a  gentleman  whose 
patent  for  duplex  telegraph}^  has  made  him  well  known 
in  the  scientific  world.     Thanks  to  the  courtesy  of  these 
gentlemen,  I  was  enabled  to  send  a  press  despatch — the 
very  first — over  their  cable  to  New  York.    I  sent  the 
Herald  four  hundred  and  eighty-five  words.     Later  on 
we  got  information  as  to  what  had  happened  in  other 
places.     The  crews  on    the  vessels  at  anchor  off    the 
islands  of  Naos  and  Flamenco  were  roused  from  their 
sleep— such  as  were  not  on  duty — and  supposed  that  the 
vessels  had  grounded  or  were  dragging  their  anchors. 
The  island  of  Toboga,  nine  miles  from  Panama,  had  had 
a  severe  shaking  and  part  of  a  substantial  chff  had 
fallen  into  the  sea.     Some  people  came  over  to  Panama 
from  the  Colon  side,  and  then  it  was  that  we  learned 
that  the  shaking  in  Colon  had  been  even  worse  than  on 
our  side.     From  the  city  of  Colon  to  Baila-Mona  the 
Panama  Railroad  had  been  rendered  almost  useless.     In 
places  the  road-bed  had  sunk ;  in  others  it  was  completely 
thrown  out  of  line,  and  for  two  and  twenty  miles  this 


174  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

condition  of  things  obtained.  The  long  bridge,  of  over 
600  feet,  at  Barbacoas  was  thrown  slightly  out  of  line. 

In  speaking  of  Morgan  and  the  river  Chagres,  refer- 
ence has  been  made  to  Cruz  of  those  days,  or  Las  Cruces 
of  to-day.  The  latter  settlement  is  not  very  far  from 
one  of  the  central  railway  stations  on  the  Isthmus.  Pre- 
vious to  the  earthquake  there  had  been  a  substantial 
stone  church  there.  That  building  literally  had  been 
shaken  to  pieces.  Its  ruins  were  photographed  by  M. 
Demers,  chief  of  the  photographic  service  of  the  Panama 
Inter-oceanic  Canal  Company.  Not  a  piece  of  the  waU 
four  feet  high  was  standing.  We  learned  subsequently 
that  several  lives  had  been  lost  in  a  small  village  be- 
tween Colon  and  Panama. 

With  Colon  on  the  Atlantic  my  readers  are  tolerably 
familiar.  The  majority  of  its  buildings  were  of*  wood. 
The  violence  of  the  shock  was  such  that  piles  of  plank, 
put  up  in  the  usual  way,  were  shaken  down  and,  bad  as 
our  experience  was  in  Panama,  certainly  the  earthquake 
violence  there  was  greater.  It  was  such  that  people 
who  attempted  to  walk,  were  thrown  off  their  feet. 
There  were  also  a  few  accidents.  As  usual,  under  such 
terrible  circumstances,  the  majority  absolutely  lost  their 
heads.  Strong  men,  who  under  ordinary  circumstances 
would  have  undergone  almost  anything,  were  as  help- 
less as  children.  When  daylight  came  upon  the  scene  in 
Colon,  it  was  found  that  a  great  rent  crossed  the  island 
from  near  the  substantial  stone  freight  sheds  of  the  Pan- 
ama Railroad  Company  right  along  the  front  street  to 
the  earthen  embankment  connecting  the  island  with  the 
main  land.  Later  on  a  fissure  was  discovered  running 
along  the  right  bank  of  the  Chagres.  It  was  traced  some 
three  miles  and  varied  in  breadth  from  several  inches 
to  a  mere  crack,  closing  below  in  abyssmal  darkness. 

I  was  told  by  Mr.  Burns,  an  intelligent  American  con- 
tractor, who  was  then  mining  in  the  hills  between  Colon 
and  Panama,  that  men  in  his  camp  were  shaken  off  their 
feet,  and  that  a  mule  fell  and  rolled  over  and  over. 
That  was  the  earthquake  of  the  first  day.  The  next 
morning  about  five  o'clock  there  was  another  one.    I 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANyiMA.  175 

did  not  dare  stay  in  the  hotel,  as  it  was  so  badly  dam- 
aged. The  lofty  buildings  practically  were  abandoned, 
and  all  who  could  go  out  of  town,  went  out  into  the  open 
country,  sleeping  under  tents  or  any  shelter  they  could 
get.  Business  was  absolutely  at  a  standstill;  the  sick 
forgot  their  illnesses,  and  the  only  subject  of  conversation 
was  los  temhlores  or  the  earthquakes.  A  friend,  now 
resident  in  St.  Thomas,  had  offered  me  a  shake  down 
over  the  Colonial  Bank.  While  nobody  was  afraid,  the 
sociability  was  intense.  The  next  morning,  at  4:53, 
there  was  a  violent  shake,  and  we  hurriedly  dressed  and 
got  out  into  the  street.  As  usual,  the  whole  town  was 
alive ;  all  of  our  fears  had  been  reawakened,  and  a  feel- 
ing of  impending  disaster  impressed  everybody.  When 
daylight  came  we  were  out  in  the  Plaza  St.  Anna,  and 
well  do  I  remember  the  first  pencillings  of  light  along 
the  horizon  and  the  quiet  delight  with  which  we  wel- 
comed it. 

While  severe  earthquakes  during  the  day  are  bad,  in 
the  darkness  of  night  they  really  are  appalling.  On 
the  second  night  after  the  earthquake,  I  accepted  an  in- 
vitation from  another  friend,  whose  building  was  not  so 
lofty  as  the  bank,  in  which  I  had  passed  the  previous 
night.  He  adopted  an  ingenious  device,  well  known  in 
earthquake  countries.  In  subsequent  press  letters  I 
dubbed  them  "Stearns'  Earthquake  Detectors."  He 
stood  two  soda  bottles  and  a  number  of  mineral  bottles  on 
their  mouths.  Any  shock  would  upset  them  and  give  an 
alarm.  The  tremor  that  night  was  but  a  slight  one,  and 
on  the  third  night  I  slept  in  the  hotel  proper — in  a  way, 
for  we  were  all  so  unstrung  by  the  intense  nervous 
strain,  that  restful  sleep  was  out  of  the  question.  The 
building  of  the  Cable  Company,  in  which  I  passed  my 
second  night,  was  so  damaged  that  one  of  its  walls  sub- 
sequently had  to  be  stayed  up  and  secured.  At  that 
time  the  Panama  Canal  Company  had  a  maregraph  at 
Colon,  and  it  was  found  that  there  had  been  a  species  of 
tidal  wave,  as  indicated  by  the  perpendicular  tracings 
made  by  that  instrument.  As  I  have  stated,  the  Pan- 
ama and  West  India  Company's  cable  was  broken,  and 


176  FIVE  TEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

the  other  cable  was  not  open  to  the  public  as  it  had  not 
been  transferred  by  the  dii-ectors  to  the  company,  and 
consequently  we  were  shut  off.  There  is  a  general  im- 
pression that  ' '  news  travels  by  post, "  but,  as  an  excep- 
tion to  the  rule,  I  may  here  state  that,  upwards  of  a 
month  subsequently,  we  received  information  on  the 
Isthmus  to  the  effect  that  a  tidal  wave  had  swept  some 
of  the  islands  on  the  Atlantic  side  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Gulf  of  Darien.  It  swept  across  them,  washing  away 
ranches  and  inhabitants,  and  some  sixty-five  people  per- 
ished. But,  as  I  have  said,  we  only  learned  this  a  month 
later.  It  would  seem  that  the  centre  of  seismic  disturb- 
ance had  been  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  and  almost  opposite  the  old  Isthmus  of  Darien. 
Hence,  the  tidal  waves  that  swept  the  islands  in  the 
Archipelago  in  that  direction,  and  the  earthquake  wave 
which  so  violently  shook  the  Isthmus. 

I  kept  records  during  the  "shakes."  After  the  fifth 
day  there  were  no  strong,  but  many  minor,  ones.  I  have 
notes  and  records  of  them  by  the  dozen. 

The  third  violent  shock  was  about  the  fourth  day ;  it 
occui'red  about  eleven  o'clock,  p.  m.  ,  when,  in  common 
with  others,  I  was  tremendously  pleased  to  get  into  the 
Plaza  Triompha  and  out  in  the  open.  The  only  idea  that 
seems  to  actuate  one  under  such  circumstances,  is  to  get 
away  from  buildings,  or  anything  that  can  fall  upon 
one.  While  we  were  in  that  Plaza — everybody  talking 
to  everybody,  for  on  such  occasions  formalities  do  not 
exist— there  were  violent  shakings,  and  in  a  street  near 
us  there  was  a  rush  and  considerable  excitement  caused 
by  a  hysterical  woman's  shrieking. 

On  the  afternoon  of  that  day  an  old  acquaintance  of  a 
friend  of  mine  had  visited  his  house,  and  it  being  late  at 
night  asked  the  privilege  of  staying  there.  She  was 
allotted  a  room  and  a  hammock.  On  the  morning  sub- 
sequent to  this  last  shock  they  found  she  was  not  awake, 
and  thought  ehe  had  overslept  herself.  Later,  finding 
she  did  not  move,  they  approached  her  hammock  and 
found  her  dead — another  case  of  heart  disease,  her  death 
being  caused  by  excitement. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  177 

While  making  no  professions  of  bravery,  I  have  yet  to 
learn  that  I  lack  the  courage  common  to  most  men,  but 
for  weeks  after  that  experience  when  in  the  quiet  of  my 
room  at  night,  surrounded  by  cracked  walls,  whenever  I 
allowed  my  mind  to  dwell  upon  the  awful  scene,  I  would 
shiver  from  head  to  foot.  It  was  a  fearful  experience. 
If  there  is  any  one  thing  that  utterly  unnerves  one,  it  is 
an  earthquake  of  that  type — one  that  will  shake  build- 
ings to  pieces,  partially  destroy  a  railroad,  and  create 
the  havoc  and  destruction  of  that  terrific  earthquake  of 
the  7th  of  September,  1883. 

As  soon  as  it  was  possible  to  collect  reliable  data  I  sent 
a  series  of  letters  to  the  Montreal  Gazette,  and  they  were 
published  in  extenso.  Following  their  publication  there 
was  a  lot  of  scientific  discussion  in  the  Old  Country,  as 
to  what  would  be  the  effect  of  an  earthquake  on  a  com- 
pleted canal.  Scientists  took  the  ground  that  the  em- 
bankment on  the  side  whence  the  wave  came,  would 
suffer  most,  and  that  an  earthquake  of  that  violence 
would  seriously  damage  any  canal. 

As  soon  as  possible  I  instituted  careful  inquiry  as  to 
the  history  of  the  early  earthquakes  on  the  Isthmus,  for, 
when  I  became  a  resident  there,  I  had  no  knowledge  of 
earthquakes,  nor  had  I  ever  heard  of  any  in  connection 
with  that  neck  of  land.  From  the  typical  ' '  oldest  in- 
habitants "  I  learned  that  the  earthquake  in  the  fall  of 
1858,  that  had  so  damaged  Carthagena  on  the  Atlantic, 
had  done  a  great  deal  of  damage  in  the  City  of  Panama. 
I  also  learned  that  upwards  of  a  century  ago  the  country 
had  been  terrifically  shaken  from  Santa  Fe  de  Bogota  to 
Panama,  and  that  about  one  hundred  thousand  lives  had 
been  lost.  Some  ten  years  prior  to  the  earthquake  of 
1882  there  had  been  a  violent  shock,  the  greatest  force 
being  felt  in  the  State  of  Antioquia,  to  the  south  of  the 
Isthmus.  A  pueblo,  or  village  called  Cucuta,  was  liter- 
ally shaken  down  and  upwards  of  five  thousand  people 
lost  their  lives.  =*"  It  will  be  seen  that  earthquakes  in 
Colombia  are  not  modern  inventions.! 

*  Star  and  Herald,  Panama,  1878.  t  "  Humboldt's  Travels." 

12 


178  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

A  remarkable  feature  in  connection  with  that  earth- 
quake period  at  Panama  must  not  be  overlooked.  It 
would  seem  that  my  despatch  to  the  Ne-w  York  Herald 
was  cabled  abroad,  and  it  all  but  produced  an  earth- 
quake among  M.  De  Lesseps'  shareholders.  He  at  once 
informed  the  world  that  there  would  be  no  more  earth- 
quakes on  the  Isthmus.  Strange  to  say,  despite  the 
utterances  of  this  celebrated  man,  the  earthquakes 
kept  on,  to  the  unstringing  of  our  nerves  and  to  the  con~ 
tradiction  of  even  so  distinguished  an  individual  as 
Count  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps. 

Another  statement  in  connection  with  this  and  I  have 
done.  Such  of  my  readers  as  are  familiar  with  the  his- 
toric Paris  Congress  of  May,  1879,  that  was  called  to- 
gether to  consider  the  Panama  Canal,  will  remember 
that  M.  de  Lesseps  denounced  any  Nicaragua  route  as 
impracticable,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  was  a  land  of 
earthquakes,  and  that  the  only  route  was  that  at  Pan- 
ama. The  only  interpretation  that  one  can  place  on 
such  a  statement  is,  that  M.  de  Lesseps  had  settled  on 
the  Panama  route  before  calling  his  scientists  together. 
And  such  was  the  case.  That  he,  as  an  intelligent  man, 
could  have  made  such  a  broad  statement,  savors  of  abso- 
lute ignorance  regarding  the  past  of  the  Isthmus;  as 
that  indefatigable  traveller  and  great  authority,  Hum- 
boldt, refers  to  the  peculiar  formation  of  parts  of  Colom- 
bia and  the  terrific  cataclysms  that  must  have  obtained 
there  in  early  days. 

Within  the  last  few  days*  I  note  that  the  adjoining 
Republic  of  Ecuador  has  been  violently  shaken  by  earth- 
quakes, and  so  violent  were  they  that  they  produced  a 
panic  among  the  people.  What  effect  such  earthquakes 
would  have  upon  a  tide  level  canal  or  any  other  canal 
are  best  imagined,  and  description  is  unnecessary. 

*  April,  1888. 


Afuican  Method  of  Holding  Children  Aciioss  Hip,  Gulf 
OF  Panama. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CARTHAGENA,  THE  CITADEL,  OF  GOLDEN  CASTILE — ITS  FOBTI- 
FICATIOXS — COST  EIGHTY  MILLIONS — CHUKCHES — EARLY 
HISTORY— SITUATION — BAKRANQUILLA,  ON  THE  MAGDA- 
LENA  RIVER. 

Carthagena  de  los  Indias  was  Spain's  stronghold  on 
the  Spanish  Main. 

Before  entering  upon  its  history  I  shall  consider  the 
harbor  of  Carthagena,  of  which  one  reads :  "  It  is  the 
finest  and  most  commodious  port  on  the  north  coast  of 
New  Granada,  where  large  vessels  can  lie  in  great  se- 
curity, effect  any  ordinary  repairs,  and,  if  necessary, 
heave.  It  is  formed  between  the  low  mangrove  shore  of 
the  main  on  the  east,  Tierra  Bomba  Island  on  the  west, 
and  Barii  Island  on  the  south;  is  about  eight  miles  in 
length  from  north  to  south ;  but  its  breadth  varies  con- 
siderably. Near  the  middle  the  eastern  extremity  of 
Tierra  Bomba  stretches  so  far  across,  as  to  nearly  divide 
it  into  two  large  basins. 

' '  The  city,  which  is  the  capital  of  the  province,  is  situ- 
ated (population  20,000)  at  the  north  end  of  the  harbor 
on  a  low,  narrow  neck  of  sand  about  two  miles  in  length, 
and  is  enclosed  within  walls  of  the  most  solid  descrip- 
tion ;  the  churches  and  other  buildings  are  also  of  a  sim- 
ilar substantial  character.  It  occupies  a  space  of  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  north  and  south,  and  about  half 
a  mile  from  east  to  west,  and  communicates  with  the 
main-land  by  a  wooden  bridge  two  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  in  length,  and  with  Calamar,  on  the  river  Magda- 
lena,  by  a  canal  having  a  depth  of  eight  feet  (El  Dique). 

'  'About  a  mile  eastward  of  the  city  lies  La  Popa  hill, 
five  hundred  and  ten  feet  above  the  sea,  of  a  wedge-like 
form,  with  the  thick  end  to  the  south ;  at  this  end  there 

179 


180  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

is  a  signal  post  and  a  large  convent,  the  massive  white 
walls  of  Avhich  are  forty-five  feet  high.  In  clear  weather 
the  hill  may  be  seen  from  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  and 
it  is  a  remarkable  object  when  seen  from  off  Galera  Point. 

"At  the  base  of  La  Popa,  between  it  and  the  city,  on  a 
small  hill  one  hmidred  and  twenty-five  feet  high,  are  the 
ruins  of  the  castle  of  San  Lazarus ;  and  at  the  entrance 
to  the  small  lagoon  which  separates  the  city  from  the 
main-land  and  the  harbor,  is  Pastelillo  fort.  Spring 
tides  rise  eighteen  inches  and  neaps  six  inches."  * 

Now  for  a  brief  glimpse  at  its  past : 

"In  Ojeadas'  voyage  thither,  in  1509,  he  found  the 
natives  to  be  warlike  men  of  Carib  origin.  They  wielded 
great  swords  of  palm  wood,  defended  themselves  with 
osier  targets,  and  dipped  their  arrows  in  a  subtle  poison. 
The  women  as  well  as  the  men  mingled  in  the  battle, 
being  expert  with  the  bow  and  throwing  a  species  of 
lance,  called  azagay.t 

"  The  city  of  Carthagena  lies  in  latitude  10°  25'  north, 
and  75°  and  30'  west  longitude.  | 

"  The  climate  is  that  of  the  coast,  or  a  perpetual  sum- 
mer. 

' '  The  weather  affects  national  character  directly,  by 
means  of  dress,  and  indirectly  through  agricultural  pro- 
ducts ;  the  most  important  of  them  in  this  respect  is  the 
platano,  or  plantain.  The  plantain  saves  man  more 
labor  than  steam.  It  gives  him  the  greatest  amount  of 
food  from  a  given  piece  of  ground,  with  a  labor  so  small 
that  the  raising  of  it  to  the  mouth,  after  roasting  is  a 
material  part  of  it.  '  New  Granada  would  be  some- 
thing,' says  my  neighbor,  Caldas,  'if  we  could  extermi- 
nate the  platano  and  the  cane;  one  is  the  parent  of 
idleness  and  the  other  of  drunkenness. '  It  is  calculated 
that  the  ground  yielding  wheat  for  the  sustenance  of 
one  man,  would  grow  plantains  for  twenty-five  men,"  § 


*  "  The  West  India  Pilot,"  Vol.  I.  1883,  London. 
t  "  Companions  of  Columbus,"  New  York. 
I  "  The  West  India  Pilot,"  Vol.  I.  1883,  London. 
§  "  New  Granada,"  Holton,  N.  Y.,  1857. 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  181 

As  will  be  gathered  from  the  foregoing,  it  is  a  land  of 
perpetual  sunshine;  its  seasons  are  the  counterpart  of 
those  of  Panama.  Long  before  it  was  my  privilege  to 
pay  Carthagena  a  visit,  I  had  heard  a  great  deal  of  its 
wonderful  fortifications.  The  harbor  is  very  pretty  and 
striking.  The  steamers  enter  between  a  water  battery 
and  a  strongly  built  fort  on  a  small  island  at  the  Boca,  or 
mouth.  That  entrance  is  called  La  Boca  Chicha,  or  the 
smaller  one.  The  great  mouth  to  the  harbor  was  ob- 
structed by  the  Spaniards  themselves,  who  sank  ships  in 
it  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  the  English.  The  small 
fort  at  Boca  Chica  will  always  have  a  sad  interest  for 
admirers  of  liberty,  for  one  of  Colombia's  bravest  sons, 
the  late  General  Saltan,  was  imprisoned  there,  after  the 
failure  of  the  revolution  of  1884.  Later  he  was  taken  to 
Panama  as  a  prisoner.  While  there,  in  the  enjoyment  of 
perfect  health,  he  was  suddenly  cut  off,  and  if  the  infor- 
mation received  regarding  his  sudden  death  is  accurate, 
he  was  poisoned.  I  may  state  at  this  point,  that  the 
knife  and  poison  for  political  enemies  are  no  modern 
invention  in  Colombia,  and  I  could,  if  I  w^ished,  cite 
cases  where  president  after  president  has  met  an  un- 
timely end. 

Past  the  fort  are  land  batteries  of  a  most  substantial 
type,  all  built  by  the  Spaniards,  commanding  a  pretty 
stretch  of  water,  and  as  one  sails  up  the  bay  one  gets  a 
good  view  of  La  Popa,  which,  with  its  buildings  on  the 
top,  reminds  one  of  the  many  castles  in  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal, which  were  built  by  the  Moorish  invaders.  The 
country  thereabouts  is  very  pretty — on  one  side  a  sweep 
of  green  caused  by  a  dense  grove  of  mangroves,  and  on 
the  other,  table-lands,  palms  and  ranches,  while  the 
whole  is  backed  by  hills.  At  last  the  good  ship  Der- 
ivent  threw  her  mud-hook  overboard,  and  we  came  to, 
about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  Carthagena.  It 
bears  the  strongest  resemblance  to  Cadiz,  in  Andalusia, 
Spain,  though  the  walls  of  the  latter  are  not  nearly  as 
substantial  as  those  of  Carthagena.  I  can  better  give  an 
idea  of  the  size  of  the  walls,  their  strength  and  massive 
character,  by  stating  that  they  cost  Spain  some  eighty 


182  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

millions  of  dollars  over  two  centuries  ago.  I  left  our 
ship  in  a  small  boat  for  the  shore,  passed  another  water 
battery,  around  a  bend  and  some  shallows,  and  landed  at 
a  pier.  Thence  through  a  huge  water  gate,  and  so  to 
the  old  city.  But  for  the  fact  that  I  had  seen  so  much 
like  it  in  Spain,  it  would  have  been  a  treat  of  treats — 
and  as  it  was,  it  was  most  instructive.  I  wandered 
around  the  old  streets,  with  their  projecting  "balconies 
and  barred  windows,  and  could  almost  have  fancied 
myself  in  some  city  of  old  Spain.  An  American  writer 
who  has  paid  considerable  attention  to  the  architecture 
of  that  country  calls  it  "the  Spanish  order  of  archi- 
tecture. With  the  above  caption  the  hypercritical  may 
jump  at  his  chance,  and  say  there  is  no  such  order  laid 
down  in  the  books  on  architecture.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
it  matters  little  to  the  present  point  in  question.  Those 
who  have  become  acquainted  with  Spain,  and  countries 
descended  from  her,  know  that  the  Spaniards  in  all  the 
lands  in  which  they  have  planted  their  prestige,  gave  to 
their  houses  a  peculiar  form  of  construction,  which  no 
other  country  has  adopted  with  the  same  degree  of 
uniformity.  Hence,  it  is  not  wrong  in  meaning  when  an 
order  is  assigned  them.  This  peculiar  form  is  more 
universally  followed  by  the  descendant  of  the  Moor  than 
any  other  order  of  architecture  is  by  any  other  civilized 
nation."  * 

I  am  quite  of  Dr.  Trowbridge's  opinion  that  in  all 
countries  where  the  Spaniards  have  been,  they  have  left 
the  indelible  impress  of  their  architecture.  The  houses 
in  Spanish  cities— the  majority  of  them— are  as  much 
alike  as  peas.  The  fortifications  generally  are  identical. 
The  fortifications  around  Carthagena  are  the  most  exten- 
sive that  it  has  ever  been  my  good  fortune  to  examine. 
There  are  places  on  the  ramparts  there  where  six  car- 
riages could  be  driven  abreast;  the  thickness  of  the 
walls  is  thirty  to  sixty  feet,  backed  by  a  solid  embank- 
ment of  earth.    The  upper  sections  of  the  outer  walls  are 

*  "  Yel]ow  Fever  in  Vera  Cruz  " ;  Dr.  Trowbridge.  Vera  Cruz, 
Mexico,  1883. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  183 

pierced  from  point  to  point  with  embrasures  for  guns. 
Here  and  there  one  observes  the  peculiar  Moorish  towers 
for  sentinels.  These  are  circular,  built  wholly  of  stone, 
including  their  cupolas,  with  long  vertical  slits  on  their 
sea  faces  for  observation.  Along  the  old  ramparts  were 
a  number  of  guns,  of  the  ancient  and  of  the  modem 
type.  Some  of  the  old  ones  were  a  mass  of  rust  and 
absolutely  useless— some  upright,  others  partially  bro- 
ken down.  Many  of  the  more  modern  gims,  all  muzzle 
loaders,  were  mounted  on  substantial  wooden  gun  car- 
riages of  English  manufacture.  Some  of  the  older  guns 
were  mounted  on  wooden  carriages  whose  wheels  were 
huge  disks  of  wood  shod  with  iron.  Again  other  guns 
were  on  iron  carriages.  Just  inside  the  fortifications 
there  is  a  street.  It  is  a  remarkable  stronghold  and 
historic  in  many  ways.  Within  the  city  are  many 
churches.  The  Church  of  Santo  Domingo,  or  Saint 
Dominic,  is  an  important  one.  San  Juan  de  Dios  is 
another  very  large  church  that  was  being  repaired  while 
I  was  there.  It  is  a  huge  structure,  with  the  usual 
Moorish  towers,  and  a  Moorish  dome.  It  had  been 
modernized  by  covering  it  with  a  light-colored,  yellow 
wash  and  blocking  it  off  in  squares — to  my  mind,  Uttle 
better  than  sacrilege. 

Carthagena  connects  by  a  narrow  neck  of  sand  with  a 
very  considerable  settlement  outside  the  walls.  The 
landing-place  there  presented  a  great  deal  of  animation 
on  a  market  day,  when  people  came  up  in  their  bungoes, 
or  canoes,  and  drew  them  up  on  the  sands  and  chaffered 
over  the  various  products  offered  for  sale.  The  majority 
were  black-skinned,  of  Indian  descent,  but  of  course 
there  was  some  blending  with  the  African.  Outside  the 
walls,  between  Carthagena  and  the  town  beyond,  is  the 
Camilon,  or  pleasure  ground.  On  each  side  of  the  street 
which  crosses  it,  are  a  number  of  pedestals,  and  on 
these  are  remarkable  busts  of  distinguished  Colom- 
bians. They  are  out  of  the  open,  the  whole  unpro- 
tected. 

El  Cerro  San  Felipe,  or  the  hill  of  Saint  Philip,  is  con- 
nected with  the  old  city  by  a  tunnel  that  it  is  said  cost 


184  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

$11,000,000.  Reference  has  already  been  made  to  La 
Popa,  which  is  an  old  time  fortification  and  monas- 
tery. Despite  this  fortification,  and  the  land  and  water 
batteries,  the  English  stormed  the  city  and  carried  it. 
It  is  said  that  the  defense  was  most  obstinate,  but  the 
indomitable  will  of  the  sons  of  John  Bull  led  to  their 
victory.  But  it  was  purchased  at  a  fearful  price,  for 
thousands  of  English  sailors,  soldiers  and  marines  died 
of  fever.  The  pretty  water  battery,  El  Pastelillo,  to-day 
is  known  as  El  Redouto.  Back  of  this  there  is  a 
stretch  of  green  and  the  hill  of  San  Felipe  in  the  dis- 
tance; on  its  right  is  La  Popa,  and  on  the  left,  the 
city. 

The  royal  mail  steamer  Dertvent,  Captain  Powles, 
cleared  from  Carthagena  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  I 
had  another  opportunity  of  seeing  the  sun  set  on  the 
city  and  all  the  play  of  light  as  the  ship  steered  out 
into  the  open.  The  run  to  Salgar,  the  port  of  Barran- 
quilla,  was  made  in  about  eight  hours ;  it  could  have 
been  done  in  less,  but  there  was  no  hurry.  At  Salgar  I 
went  off  in  a  tug  to  the  shore  and  took  the  railroad  for 
Barranquilla.  The  trip  between  the  port  and  the  city, 
owing  to  the  flatness  of  the  country,  was  not  very  inter- 
esting. In  some  lagoons  I  noticed  immense  numbers  of 
white  cranes.  Barranquilla  is  an  old  town  on  the  river 
Magdalena.  The  majority  of  the  houses  in  the  city  are 
of  stone  covered  by  very  thick  thatches  of  native  grasses 
resembling  hay.  These  thatches  are  put  on  in  the  most 
substantial  manner,  and  then  are  neatly  squared  off 
where  they  hang  over  the  sidewalk.  They  are  twelve  to 
eighteen  inches  thick.  These,  with  the  whitewashed 
walls  of  the  houses,  present  a  somewhat  peculiar  appear- 
ance. Barranquilla  is  largely  built  on  sandy  soil.  The 
streets  are  all  sandy,  travelling  is  most  difficult,  and  the 
dust  is  constant.  While  the  place  is  very  hot,  it  has 
been  claimed  that  it  is  healthy.  Generally  speaking,  I 
presume  this  is  the  case. 

Some  native  troops  were  stationed  there.  Most  of 
them  were  Indians,  men  of  small  figure,  active,  wiry, 
and,   when  well  led,   good    fighters.    They  have  been 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  185 

called  machine  soldiers  *  by  an  American  writer,  and  the 
name  is  a  good  one.  These  men,  when  well  drilled,  are 
most  successfnl  in  military  evolutions.  At  Panama  I 
saw  a  number  of  dress  parades  where  many  complicated 
movements  were  made  by  them — movements  based 
largely  upon  the  tactics  of  the  French.  Many  of  the 
Colombian  regiments  have  scarlet  trowsers  and  the 
shako,  so  familiar  to  those  who  have  seen  the  French 
troops. 

Near  the  old  church  in  the  heart  of  Barranquilla,  there 
is  a  broad  cement  walk  running  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance through  the  centre  of  one  of  the  main  thorough- 
fares. Twice  a  week  the  band  plays  there— Thursdays 
and  Sundays.  On  the  evening  of  the  latter  day  the 
elite  of  the  city  may  be  found  promenading  up  and 
down,  listening  to  the  music,  much  of  which  is  excellent. 
When  one  is  travelling  about  I  know  of  no  better  place 
of  getting  an  idea  of  the  middle  and  upper  classes  than 
to  attend  one  of  these  band  stands.  These  outdoor  con- 
certs last  some  two  hours,  and  are  events  in  a  somewhat 
quiet  life. 

I  stayed  at  the  best  hotel  in  the  town — but  don't 
think  me  extravagant  until  I  tell  you  what  it  cost.  A 
room  was  assigned  to  me  in  which  there  were  four  cots. 
The  partitions  ran  up  about  eight  feet.  The  rooms 
were  almost  in  common.  For  a  money  consideration  of 
two  dollars  in  Colombian  paper,  which  was  about  one 
dollar  in  American  gold,  I  secured  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  my  room,  including  meals  and  attendance, 
for  I  strongly  objected  to  being  doubled  up,  trebled  up, 
or  quadrvipled,  as  sometimes  obtains  in  those  countries. 

Life  in  Barranquilla  certainly  is  very  quiet.  It  does  a 
large  trade,  as  will  be  gathered  from  the  chapter  thereon. 
Its  sister  city  of  Carthagena  does  not  do  a  very  large 
trade  with  it.  At  Barranquilla  one  can  take  a  steamer 
up  the  river  for  Calamar  and  thence  through  El  Dique, 
or  the  canal  to  Carthagena.  I  spent  nearly  a  fortnight 
there  and  made  many  pleasant  acquaintances;  among 

*  "Harper's  Monthly." 


186  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

others,  that  of  Mr.  Pellet,  for  twenty  years  United 
States  Consul,  and  latterly  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Shipping  List.  In  his  brochure*  he  gives  a  world  of 
information  regarding  the  town  some  twenty  years  ago, 
from  which  I  shall  quote  the  following : 

"The  national  post  office,  (Heaven  help  the  mark), 
was  in  a  small  straw  house,  with  a  mud  floor.  The  cor- 
respondence was  dumped  down  in  the  dirt,  and  each 
went  in  and  '  helped  himself ; '  and  our  old  friend  Con- 
stantine,  had  the  reputation  of  having  the  first  reading 
of  all  the  newspapers  which  came  for  the  whole  commu- 
nity. Our  genial  companion  of  those  days,  Mr.  HuUe, 
recounts  the  fact  that,  when  purser  of  one  of  the 
river  steamers,  he  picked  up  the  national  mail  which 
was  coming  down  in  a  canoe,  and  on  delivering  it  at  the 
post  oflSce,  and  asking  for  a  receipt,  was  met  by  the 
postmaster  with  the  announcement  that  he  had  neither 
pen,  ink  nor  paper  in  his  oflice." 

That  style  of  post  office  is  of  the  past,  and  there  is  a 
well  organized  service  now. 

The  city  of  Carthagena  does  a  very  large  export  and 
import  trade.  These  two  cities  handle  the  bulk  of  native 
exports  and  imports.  There  is  a  port  on  the  Pacific  to 
the  south  of  the  Isthmus,  called  San  Buenaventura.  It 
is  low  and  unhealthy.  A  railroad  has  been  built  there 
connecting  with  the  interior,  and  it  is  supposed  to  be 
a  shorter  way  of  reaching  Santa  Fe  de  Bogota,  the 
capital. 

Bogota  is  on  an  elevated  table-land  8000  feet  above  sea 
level.  To  reach  it  from  Colon  one  has  to  proceed  to  Car- 
thagena or  Barranquilla,  and  go  up  the  Magdalena  as  far 
as  he  can.  If  it  is  in  the  wet  season  the  trip  can  be 
made  without  serious  inconvenience,  I  am  told.  But  in 
the  dry  season,  even  a  steamer  of  the  shallow  draft  Mis- 
sissippi type,  used  there,  can  only  go  a  short  distance 
towards  Honda.  Then  the  journey  has  to  be  made  on 
mule-back.  Sometimes  it  is  a  matter  of  weeks  and  is 
attended  with  a  world  of  serious  inconvenience.     Of  the 

*  "  Twenty  Years  in  Barranquilla." 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  187 

route  from  San  Buenaventura  on  the  Pacific,  I  have  not 
heard  so  much,  but  in  the  wet  season  it  presents  many 
difficulties,  and  getting  to  the  capital  is  a  serious  under- 
taking at  any  time. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  FORTY-NINE,  OR  CALIFORNIA  DAYS  OF  PANAMA — THE 
OLD  ROUTE  ACROSS  THE  ISTHMUS  —  REMINISCENCES  OF 
EARLY  DAYS. 

The  Panama  Railroad  grew  out  of  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  California.  The  finding  of  gold  near  Colonel  Sutter's 
saw-mill  in  the  vicinity  of  Sacramento,  and  the  develop- 
ments in  various  parts  of  the  State,  soon  attracted  great 
numbers  of  men  to  California,  as  a  field  for  money-mak- 
ing and  speculation.  Going  out  across  the  plains,  or  the 
Great  American  Desert,  in  those  days,  meant  months  of 
great  risk  and  great  expense.  Thousands  went  to  Cal- 
ifornia by  way  of  Nicaragua,  going  up  the  river  as  far  as 
the  lake,  then  crossing  that  and  so  down  to  the  PacilBc 
side,  there  to  take  a  steamer.  That  was  the  shortest  way 
of  getting  there.  While  hundreds  went  on  to  California, 
thousands  crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  Many 
booked  through.  The  vessel's  destination  after  leaving 
New  York  was  the  mouth  of  the  Chagres.  Once  landed 
on  that  river  there  were  days  and  nights  of  toil,  and  all 
the  unpleasant  elements  of  climate,  and  vigorous  insect 
life  to  combat.  Crossing  the  Isthmus  in  those  days 
meant  anywhere  from  four  to  six  days.  The  gold  hun- 
ters were  rowed  or  pulled  up  the  river,  largely  by  native 
boatmen,  generally  to  some  point  in  the  vicinity  of  Cru- 
ces,  or  Cruz.  There  they  took  mules  to  Panama.  Those 
of  the  travellers  who  could  afford  it  in  the  upper  section 
of  the  Isthmus  hired  selleros,  who  took  their  name  from 
the  sella,  a  kind  of  chair,  that  they  had  lashed  to  their 
backs.  After  getting  to  Panama,  many  of  them  used  to 
shed  their  apparel,  and  the  collection  of  old  hats,  red 
shirts  and  the  like  in  the  streets  was  something  aston- 
ishing.   This  information  I  obtained  from  the  typical 

188 


Rakchos  of  Restinguk,  Island  of  Toboga. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  189 

oldest  inhabitant,  and  I  presume  it  is  as  true  as  arc  the 
statements  of  other  "  oldest  inhabitants."  In  1851,  while 
hundreds  were  waiting  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  for  a 
steamer  to  San  Francisco,  there  Avas  an  outbreak  of  chol- 
era. The  disease  was  taken  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
from  the  city  of  New  York.  In  1853,  the  Seventh  United 
States  Infantry  was  on  the  Isthmus,  en  route  to  Cali- 
fornia. Captain  U.  S.  Grant  was  with  them,  and  states, 
that  fully  one-seventh  of  that  regiment  were  killed  by 
the  cholera.* 

The  epidemic  got  in  among  the  gold  hunters,  and  I 
have  been  told  by  a  gentleman,  who  was  there  at  the 
time,  that  some  six  hundred  were  lost.  Any  one  who 
knows  the  old  battery,  will  recollect  on  the  rampart, 
leading  up  to  it,  there  are  many  names  and  initials  cut 
in  the  stone  caps — initials  in  some  instances,  names  in 
full  in  others — together  with  dates.  They  used  to  go  up 
there  and  await  patiently,  first  to  note  an  incoming  ves- 
sel from  San  Francisco,  and  then  to  prepare  to  get  away. 
The  crowds  on  the  Isthmus  were  such  that  sometimes 
they  were  detained  for  weeks,  although  in  many  cases 
they  were  booked  through  to  California.  The  Eev.  Mr. 
Wilhams  in  his  work,t  relates  an  incident  that  happened 
while  he  was  on  the  Isthmus  awaiting  passage  to  the 
new  El  Dorado.  One  day  a  number  of  them  were  pass- 
ing near  the  old  church  of  La  Merced,  now  familiar  to 
my  readers.  One  of  .them  fell  down  and  expired  on  the 
spot.  The  case  was  supposed  to  be  one  of  heart  disease. 
He  was  an  American,  and  his  sudden  death  excited  a 
great  deal  of  sympathy.  In  the  midst  of  their  sympa- 
thetic expressions  one  of  their  number  said,  "He  had  a 
through  ticket  for  California,"  and  their  thoughts  were 
taken  from  the  dead  man  to  the  next  name  on  the  list. 

Some  of  those  early  day  steamers  bear  the  same  pro- 
portion to  those  of  to-day  that  the  vessels  of  Columbus  do 
to  an  ordinary  ship.  Off  the  Island  of  Naos  at  anchor  is 
the  old  steamer  Winchester.  She  belongs  to  the  Pacific 
Mail  Steamship  Company.    On  another  face  of  the  island 

*  "Grant's  Memoirs,"  Volume  I. 

t  "  The  Growth  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  California" 


190  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

there  is  the  wreck  of  the  St.  Louis,  an  old  side-wheeler. 
The  number  of  passengers  carried  on  them,  however, 
was  something  astonishing.  Hundreds  and  hundreds, 
and  later  when  the  larger  boats  of  the  type  of  the  Golden 
Gate,  that  was  burned  off  the  coast  of  Mexico  came  in, 
as  many  as  fifteen  to  seventeen  hundred  embarked.  The 
Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company  then  operated  the  line 
from  New  York  to  the  Isthmus,  and  on  the  Pacific,  the 
ships  in  part  belonged  to  the  Panama  Eailroad  Company. 
Later  its  vessels  were  all  sold  to  the  Pacific  Mail  Steam- 
ship Company,  the  railroad  company  only  retaining 
their  line  across  the  Isthmus. 

It  was  then  customary  to  disembark  passengers  any- 
where on  the  coast  of  California,  and  hundreds  left  the 
steamer  at  Santa  Barbara,  one  of  the  most  charming 
spots  on  the  Pacific.  They  then  had  to  look  forward  to  a 
pleasant  trudge  of  some  two  hundred  and  eighty-odd  miles 
to  get  into  the  gold  mining  district.  "  Forty-nine  "  and 
its  days  caU  to  mind  the  experience  of  a  young  Canadian 
physician  who  obtained  his  diploma  in  Canada.  He 
left  home  with  a  modest  sum  of  money  in  his  pocket, 
full  of  hope,  and  with  his  diploma  in  his  trunk.  He 
liberally  discounted  his  golden  future  on  his  way  out, 
by  spending  all  the  money  he  had.  When  he  reached 
San  Francisco,  he  found  that  a  doctor  was  of  no  naore 
importance  than  anybody  else,  but  he  was  a  plucky 
feUow,  and  he  engaged  himself  to  a  company  then  fishing 
for  salmon.  He  dropped  the  title  of  "Doctor,"  and 
for  months  and  months  worked  at  curing  fish.  He  got 
four  dollars  a  day.  At  last  he  went  into  the  interior, 
put  out  his  shingle,  and  made  a  success. 

The  sums  of  gold  that  crossed  the  Isthmus  in  those 
days  from  Mexico  to  the  Atlantic  were  simply  fabu- 
lous. Millions  were  carried  across,  and  never  was  a 
dollar  stolen.  The  system  of  porterage  was  excellent, 
thoroughly  organized,  and  every  precaution  was  taken. 
The  specie  was  carried  on  the  backs  of  mules  to  a  point 
near  Cruces.  It  then  went  down  the  Chagx-es  in  bungoes 
or  canoes  to  the  village  at  its  mouth,  Chagres  on  the 
Atlantic,  and  was  there  shipped  to  New  York, 


1.  Native  Rancho.     2.  Villagk  of  Emperadok,  Line  of 
Panama  Railway  and  Canal. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  CHIRIQUI,  IN  THE  STATH  OF  PANAMA — 
ITS  VOLCANOES,  SCENERY,  GUACAS  AND  GUACALS — CON- 
TENTS— CLIMATE — MESA,  OK  TABLE-LANDS — DAME  NATURE 
AT  HOME — RAMBLES  IN  HER  HOT-HOUSES — ORCHIDS — ISLA 
DE  LOS  MUERTOS. 

The  department  of  Chiriqui,  in  the  State  of  Panama, 
being  the  extreme  northern  section  of  the  State,  is  one 
that  teems  with  varied  interests,  either  to  the  archaeolo- 
gist, geologist,  or  botanist.  For  several  years  I  had 
looked  forward  to  a  trip  to  that  part  of  the  country  and 
had  been  greatly  interested  in  what  I  had  read  of  it,* 
and  of  the  hundreds  of  curios  unearthed  there  by  Mr. 
J.  A.  McNeil,  an  American  archaeologist,  who  had  spent 
some  years  in  that  department. 

One  day  about  the  end  of  February,  1886,  together 
with  Mr.  A.  Hiibsche,  an  Austrian  botanist,  I  embarked 
on  the  steamship  Cargador  for  David.  We  left  shortly 
after  nightfall,  and  our  departure  was  announced  by  the 
firing  of  a  cannon.  The  Cargador  was  built  in  Old  Eng- 
land as  a  harbor  freight  steamer.  She  was  of  consider- 
able breadth  of  beam,  and  was  a  shallow  draft  steamer 
with  double  screws.  For  years  she  had  been  engaged  in 
the  cattle  trade.  The  trip  was  uneventful  until  we  got 
off  the  coast  of  Chiriqui,  when  some  beautiful  scenery 
gladdened  our  hearts.  We  entered  one  of  the  bocas  or 
mouths,  continued  along  arms  of  the  sea  amid  peaceful 
scenery,  new  vistas  opening  upon  us  from  point  to  point. 
Later  we  got  a  good  sight  of  El  Volcan,  or  the  huge 
mountain  back  of  David.  The  steamer  wound  her  way 
in  and  out  among  the  lagoons  and  arms  of  the  sea,  and 

*  "  The  Isthmus  of  Panama:  "  Bidwell,  London. 
191 


19:^  FIVE  YEABS  IN  PANAMA. 

at  Icist  was  tied  up  to  the  bank,  some  three  miles  from 
the  pueblo  or  town  of  David.  We  drove  up  in  a  species 
of  carriage,  our  luggage  following  us,  going  over  a  very- 
pretty  piece  of  table-land.  After  the  old  town  was 
reached  we  learnt  where  we  could  obtain  rooms  on  its 
outskirts,  and  went  to  what  had  been  a  native  farm 
house.  It  was  but  one  story,  covered  w^ith  red  tiles. 
The  senora  intimated  that  we  could  have  rooms  for  a 
"consideration,"  and  having  fixed  thereon  we  were 
ushered  into  our  apartments.  Mine  faced  the  street. 
The  partitions  did  not  run  up  to  the  ceiling,  being 
open  at  the  top  for  the  circulation  of  air  and  vampire 
bats.  There  were  no  windows  in  my  room,  but  there 
were  shutters.  These  when  open  let  in  the  ^nlight,  but 
when  closed  made  the  room  dark.  There  was  a  cot 
in  one  corner,  a  species  of  washstand  in  another;  and 
after  some  negotiation  I  secured  a  tin  wash-bowl,  some 
soap,  and  a  promise  of  an  abundant  supply  of  water. 
That  tin  basin  had  to  be  the  bath-tub  for  that  trip. 
Looking  upward  there  were  the  red  tiles.  The  room 
was  not  as  luxuriously  appointed  as  some  I  have 
seen  in  my  wanderings.  I  noticed  near  my  bed 
marks  where  four  candles  had  been  placed  upon  the 
floor.  I  knew  what  it  meant  and  asked  w^hen  the  last 
funeral  took  place.  I  was  informed  by  my  hostess  that 
the  man  had  died  but  a  few  weeks  previously,  and  she 
mentioned  the  name  of  an  American  of  Panama,  who, 
by  the  way,  was  one  of  the  men  locked  up  for  supposed 
participation  in  the  stealing  of  that  $50,000.  That  was  a 
pleasant  sort  of  talk  for  me,  but  it  didn't  interfere  with 
my  plans  in  the  slightest.  My  neighbor,  the  botanist, 
took  up  the  inquiry,  and  found  that  a  journalist  had 
recently  died  in  his  room  of  consumption, — so  he  cer- 
tainly had  no  advantage. 

The  first  night  in  that  house  gave  me  considerable 
trouble.  There  were  no  ghosts;  the  journalist  didn't 
come  back,  nor  did  the  other  fellow ;  but  the  house  was 
full  of  bats  and  they  kept  flying  about  the  place,  occa- 
sionally sweeping  over  me,  when  I  could  feel  the  current 
of  air.    That  was  "an  extra"  which  had  not  been  bar- 


3(t^ 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  193 

gained  for.  We  are  told  "that  memory  is  the  only 
friend;"  but  at  times  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it  is  a 
contemptible  one.  No  sooner  did  those  wretched  bats 
commence  flying  about  than  I  recalled  the  fact  that 
cattle  were  often  killed  by  them.  Then  other  peculiari- 
ties of  the  bat  came  to  me,  such  as  their  habit  of  fasten- 
ing on  their  victims  and  fanning  the  part  so  skillfully 
with  their  wings,  that  their  bite  was  not  felt,  the  result 
being  a  full  bat  and  an  ex-sanguined  gringo.  There  was 
nothing  for  it.  I  had  to  sleep.  Fatigue  overcame  my 
imagination  and  I  went  to  sleep,  and  awoke  in  the 
morning  as  right  as  possible.  After  two  or  three  nights, 
I  got  accustomed  to  the  bats,  and  so  did  my  neighbor  in 
the  next  room.  We  could  have  dispensed  with  them, 
and  gladly,  but,  as  they  formed  part  of  the  household, 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done.  Once  having  settled 
down  in  my  spacious  quarters,  I  looked  up  my  old 
friend  Mr.  McNeil.  I  found  him  in  his  quarters  in  the 
village,  very  ill,  surrounded  by  no  end  of  curios.  The 
art  of  the  physician  came  in  play,  and,  thanks  to  it  and 
his  good  constitution,  he  was  soon  about  again,  when  we 
talked  over  our  "old  fads,"  the  pottery  implements 
found  in  the  guacals,  or  graves  of  the  Chiriqui. 

I  must  here  state  that,  thanks  to  Mr.  McNeil,  my 
attention  was  drawn  to  the  many  curios  from  the  pre- 
historic graves  of  David.  The  town  of  David  is  the 
chief  town  of  the  department  and  lies  on  a  noble  savanna, 
or  plain.  It,  with  the  well  wooded  coast  line  in  front 
and  the  grand  old  mountain  at  the  back,  forms  one 
of  the  pi'ettiest  pictures  imaginable.  It  was  classic  in  all 
of  its  details.  El  Volcan,  or  the  volcano,  as  the  moun- 
tain is  named,  has  been  extinct  for  many  years.  It 
has  three  craters ;  its  height  is  3,000  feet.  It  had  been 
our  intention  to  visit  them  all,  but,  owing  to  the  lateness 
of  the  season  and  the  approach  of  the  rains,  we  had  to 
abandon  that  part  of  the  programme.  David  is  one  of 
those  odd-looking  settlements  seen  in  all  the  Spanish 
Americas.  The  houses  are  generally  one  story  high, 
whitewashed,  and  are  section  covered  with  red  tiles  of 
native  manufacture.  The  majority  of  the  houses  have 
13 


194  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

covered-in  verandas  in  front.  It  is  a  quiet,  easy  life  in 
which  there  is  no  indecent  haste ;  the  climate  is  perpet- 
ual summer,  vegetation  is  luxuriant,  and  one's  tranquil- 
lity is  only  varied  by  intermittent  fever  and  occasional 
revolutionary  outbreaks.  A  Colombian  is  like  an  Irish- 
man, in  that  he  must  have  some  distraction.  The  streets 
of  the  city  are  not  lit  by  electricity,  and  they  have  no 
tramways, 

Guacals  is  the  name  employed  by  the  Indians  of  the 
department  to  designate  the  old  cemeteries;  the  word 
"  guaca  "  meaning  a  grave.  History  is  silent  about  the 
people  who  are  buried  in  thousands  there.  The  dis- 
covery of  these  old  cemeteries  came  about  on  this  wise. 
Many,  many  years  ago  in  cutting  a  trench  through  a 
peaceful  forest  to  drain  off  water,  the  Indian  diggers 
came  upon  an  image  of  gold.  Great  was  their  surprise, 
and  the  execrable  sedd'ore,  or  the  "cursed  thirst  of 
gold"  settled  upon  that  primitive  people  like  a  night- 
mare. They  kept  on  digging,  and  unearthed  quantities 
of  golden  ornaments  and  images  of  various  kinds.  Soon 
hundreds  were  digging  in  the  forest,  and  it  has  been 
estimated  that  gold  ornaments  were  uncovered  to  a 
value  exceeding  $400,000  in  a  space  of  five  or  six 
years.  They  were  sold  for  their  weight,  or  value  in  coin, 
and  went  into  the  melting  pot.  Later,  some  archaeolo- 
gists took  an  interest  in  the  matter,  and  some  system- 
atic work  was  done,  they  directing,  and  the  natives  do- 
ing the  digging.  It  would  seem  that  in  the  majority  of 
cases  the  graves  first  were  dug,  their  sides  lined  with 
pieces  of  stone,  and  then  cross-pieces  were  laid  over 
these.  Inside,  the  pottery  was  placed,  together  with 
ornaments  of  gold,  cooking  utensils,  etc.  The  graves  of 
the  poorer  classes  contained  nothing  but  cooking  uten- 
sils, and  no  gold  ornaments  were  found  in  them.  A 
native  locates  a  grave  by  tapping  the  earth  as  he  walks 
along.  As  soon  as  he  gets  a  hollow  sound  familiar  to  his 
expert  ear  he  commences  digging,  and  digs  down.  The 
contents  are  stone  implements,  pottery  implements, 
ornaments,  and  pure  gold,  and  ornaments  of  gold  gilt,  a 
species  of  pinchbeck,  called  by  the  natives  there  tum- 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  195 

bago.  There  are  also  ornaments  in  copper,  and  a  few 
bone  instruments. 

There  are  a  number  of  small  idols  in  stone,  varying 
fi'om  nine  to  eighteen  inches  high.  There  is  also  a 
species  of  grinding  stone,  on  which  they  evidently 
ground  their  corn,  or  its  equivalent.  The  better  class  of 
these  grinding  stones  were  from  eighteen  to  twenty-four 
inches  in  length,  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  in 
width.  I  am  now  speaking  of  some  of  the  largest. 
They  were  concave  on  top,  and  in  the  graves  were  found 
stone  rollers  fitting  the  upper  surface.  Generally  they 
were  made  to  represent  some  animal.  There  were  some 
with  tiger  shaped  heads  and  four  legs.  The  tail  gener- 
ally folded  around  and  rested  on  the  left  hind  leg.  A 
commoner  type  of  grinding  stone  resembled  a  low  stool 
of  stone  without  any  ornamentation.  In  the  graves 
were  found  an  endless  variety  of  stone  chisels  and  stone 
hatchets.  Some  of  these  chisels  and  hatchets  were 
beautifully  proportioned,  presenting  various  planes  and 
surfaces  for  examination,  and  their  edges  in  many 
instances  were  sharp  even  after  having  been  exposed  for 
long  centuries  to  the  effects  of  that  humid  soil.  These 
were  the  implements  with  which  the  people  did  all  their 
carving. 

In  the  pottery  implements  the  variety  was  almost  end- 
less, not  only  suggesting  considerable  ingenuity,  but  also 
some  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  of  the  human  figiu-e. 
Between  many  of  these  pieces  of  pottery  and  the  male 
angels  on  the  doors  of  La  Merced,  at  Panama,  there  was 
a  striking  analogy.  If  I  had  to  describe  these  things  to 
archaeologists  interested  in  the  work,  and  wholly  of  the 
masculine  sex,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  conveying 
my  ideas.  Roughly  classifying  the  pottery  utensils, 
they  were  of  two  kinds,  glazed  and  unglazed,  and  many 
of  the  markings  on  them  had  been  made  in  black  and 
red  pigments.  Many  of  the  borders  while  crude,  were 
very  suggestive.  There  was  a  series  of  gods,  little 
squat  figures  with  triangular  faces ;  nearly  all  of  which 
had  been  glazed  and  were  ornamental.  Their  pectoral 
development  was  remarkable.    It  is  supposed  that  they 


196  J'^iVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

were  a  kind  of  idol — it  may  be  an  idle  supposition,  but  it 
is  all  we  have  to  go  by.  Then  there  were  rattles  of 
ingenious  construction,  with  which  they  soothed  the 
gentle  babe  in  early  days.  There  was  a  series  of 
Avhistles  (it  is  supposed  that  they  were  bird  calls)  pro 
ducing  all  sorts  of  notes,  from  a  full  rich  sound  to  a 
gentle  twitter.  There  was  no  end  of  variety  in  the 
yellow  earthenware  pots  for  cooking  purposes.  Some  of 
these  stood  up  on  three  legs;  these  being  hollowed— 
while  within  were  hardened  balls  of  pottery  that  played 
up  and  down  when  they  wore  reversed.  You  could  see 
them  through  the  slots  in  the  leg.  Many  of  these 
showed  traces  of  fire,  and  undoubtedly  had  been  used 
for  cooking.  Then  there  were  others  that  were  unglazed, 
of  plainer  varieties,  with  little  handles  placed  on  their 
sides  close  to  the  rim.  Each  handle  presented  the  head 
of  some  animal.  Some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  plain 
ware  really  were  very  handsome.  They  were  obtained 
by  the  late  M.  de  Zeltner,  a  former  consul  of  France,  on 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  He  made  a  remarkably  fine 
collection,  and  had  them  photographed  on  one  large 
plate,  and  I  saw  the  latter.  He  also  published  a  mono- 
graph thereon.* 

Among  the  gold  ornaments  found  in  the  guacas  at 
Chiriqui  were  many  frogs.  The  frog  seems  to  have  been 
a  favorite  type  of  ornament  with  those  early  races.  The 
largest  frog  of  pure  gold,  uncovered  there,  weighed 
eighteen  ounces.  I  saw  a  very  good  specimen  in  Pan- 
ama that  weighed  six  drachms.  Another  thing  that 
seemed  very  strange  to  me  was  a  kind  of  bell.  It  was  of 
gold,  and  the  exact  covmterpart  of  the  old-time  sleigh  bells, 
or  those  with  a  slot.  It  had  a  handle  and  within  were 
little  pieces  of  metal,  and  these  tiny  bells,  when  shaken, 
emitted  quite  a  musical  sound.  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
examining  quite  a  number  of  them.  There  were  also  a 
number  of  figures  of  both  men  and  women.  The  major- 
ity of  those  found  were  men. 

Among  the  tumbago  ornaments  the  majority  repre- 

*  "  Les  Sepultures  Prehistoriciues  de  Chiriqui :  "    De  Zeltner,  Paris. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  I97 

sented  birds  or  frogs.  From  a  careful  examination  of  a 
number  of  them  the  body  seemed  to  be  made  of  copper 
covered  by  a  film  of  gold.  How  it  was  put  on,  I  am  un- 
able to  say,  but  certainly  gold  it  was.  One  specimen 
that  I  examined,  that  belonged  to  a  collection  that 
became  the  property  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Stearns,  of  Short 
Hills,  N.  J.,  was  a  part  of  the  figure  of  an  animal 
resembling  a  lion.  That  figure  caused  me  endless  specu- 
lation. It  was  about  an  inch  and  a  quarter  long.  There 
was  the  head  and  part  of  the  mane.  The  animal  was 
looking  backward  over  its  body;  it  was  well  propor- 
tioned, and  its  tail  curled  round  to  the  left.  There  was  a 
tiny  ring  fastened  to  it,  by  which  it  was  probably  sus 
pended  from  the  neck  of  the  wearer.  The  lower  part 
had  rusted  away. 

I  also  saw  another  specimen,  which  caused  me  a  deal 
of  speculation.  It  evidently  was  intended  for  the  figure 
of  some  king.  It  was  in  bronze,  and  that  surprised  me 
greatly,  because  the  art  of  casting  in  bronze  is  deemed 
an  art  to  this  day,  if  I  have  been  rightly  informed. 
This  king  had  upon  his  head  a  crown.  It  was  claimed 
that  it  was  found  in  the  vicinity  of  David. 

Thanks  to  the  researches  of  Stephens  in  Mexico,  and 
Squier  in  Nicaragua,  we  know  a.  great  deal  of  the 
tribes  and  of  the  primitive  people  of  those  countries  and 
their  past  monuments.  It  is  supposed  that  the  people 
of  Chiriqui,  like  those  of  the  Gulf  of  Panama,  already 
referred  to,  had  branched  off  from  their  more  civilized 
brethren  in  the  highlands  of  Central  America  and  the 
east  coast  of  Mexico. 

On  that  trip  to  David  I  secured  a  great  many  speci- 
mens, and  photographed  them  then  and  there.  The 
bulk  of  my  specimens  I  sent  to  the  University  of  McGill 
College,  Montreal,  and  the  others  to  the  Natural  History 
Society  of  that  city.    "^ 

I  have  seen  a  dr?(iwing  made  by  Mr.  McNeil  of  the 
pedra  pintada,  or  the  painted  stone.  It  was  many 
miles  from  where  we  were  staying,  but  one  morning  we 
got  up  bright  and  early,  Mr.  Hiibsche  and  myself,  and 
started    inland.      It   was    one  of   those   bright,   clear, 


198  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

tropical  mornings ;  and  to  travel  right  over  the  savanna 
through  the  open  and  into  the  primitive  forest  was  a 
delight.  Onward  we  went,  wending  our  way  through 
the  forests  and  across  streams,  past  native  corrals,  here 
and  there  a  rancho  and  grazing  cattle,  to  the  banks  of 
a  little  rivulet,  where  we  had  breakfast.  Then  we  kept 
on,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  reached  a  rancho  near  the 
stone.  There  it  was  that  I  became  acquainted  with  a 
native  bed — one  of  those  built  up  things  in  a  native  hut 
—over  which  was  thrown  a  dried  skin.  It  is  about  as 
comfortable  and  yielding  as  a  block  of  granite.  Our 
experience  in  that  rancho  I  shall  never  forget.  Mr. 
Hiibsche  took  the  inner  side  of  our  luxuriant  couch.  I 
had  the  privilege  of  sleeping  on  the  outside.  The  bed 
consisted  of  a  dried  skin  under  us.  They  had  visitors  at 
that  rancho,  and  they  climbed  up  the  ladder  and  slept 
above  us.  The  people  up  in  that  loft— the  whole  place 
wasn't  twelve  by  twelve — were  intensely  sociable,  and 
smoked  after  they  had  retired.  Then  the  old  lady  and 
gentleman  went  into  their  apartment,  which  was  on  our 
floor.  It  was  the  ground  floor — literally  so,  as  the  floor 
was  earthen.  Of  course  there  were  some  children  and  a 
few  dogs.  Fourteen  of  us  slept  in  that  small  rancho 
that  night,  and  it  will  be  safe  to  say  that  there  was  great 
sociability  and  little  stiffness.  It  wasn't  much  of  a 
night  to  talk  about,  but  all  things  have  an  ending,  and 
at  the  first  pencillings  of  dawn  we  were  up  and  out.  We 
then  had  coffee  and,  led  by  a  practice  or  guide,  who  by 
the  same  token  was  a  son  of  the  household,  we  set  off 
for  the  famous  painted  stone. 

It  was  a  huge  boulder,  and  various  inscriptions  were 
cut  in  its  side.  I  made  a  series  of  photographs ;  then  we 
returned  to  the  rancho,  had  some  breakfast,  said  good-by 
to  the  family,  and  started  on  the  return.  That  trip 
through  the  forest  was  pleasant  and  instructive.  My 
companion  was  a  profound  botanist,  and  was  there  on  a 
botanical  trip.  He  knew  all  the  orchids  by  name  and  all 
about  them.  The  woods  were  full  of  them,  and  many  of 
them  were  new  and  strange  plants  to  me.  We  pursued 
our  way,  leisurely  chatting  about  a  thousand  and  one 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  199 

things.  He  had  had  endless  experience  in  Brazil,  along 
that  mighty  stream,  the  Amazon.  About  midday  we 
reached  a  stretch  of  table  land  where  the  natives  were 
burning  off  the  grass  to  enrich  the  soil.  When  we  got 
on  it  the  prospect  wasn't  pleasant,  for  the  prairie  was 
on  fire  in  nearly  every  direction  ahead  of  us.  It  was  in 
no  sense  a  serious  fire,  save  that  the  grass  was  burning 
towards  us  and  there  was  a  gi'eat  deal  of  smoke.  The 
gi-ass  was  but  short.  We  took  in  the  situation  at  once, 
picked  out  a  place  where  the  fire  seemed  to  be  weakest, 
and  rode  for  it.  When  getting  into  the  thick  of  it,  for 
a  few  seconds  it  was  hot  and  stifling,  but  we  got  through 
not  much  the  worse  for  it,  nor  were  our  animals  dam- 
aged. At  high  noon  it  was  rather  warmish ;  the  temper- 
ature indicated  by  one  of  my  travelling  thermometers 
was  118°. 

We  got  back  to  David  that  night  thoroughly  tired  out, 
but  after  a  most  enjoyable  experience.  It  took  us  a  day 
or  two  to  pull  ourselves  together,  when  we  went  off  on 
a  trip  of  another  kind.  We  engaged  a  large  bungo  or 
canoe  to  take  us  down  the  lagoon  over  the  arms  of  the 
sea,  to  a  point  near  a  weathered  mountain.  On  our 
way  through  the  lagoon  we  had  a  small  adventure — and 
it  might  have  been  a  very  large  one.  We  came  upon  a 
large  shark  that  was  sunning  himself,  and  the  way  he 
turned  up  the  water  was  astonishing.  He  passed  under 
our  boat,  and  had  we  been  upset,  there  is  no  knowing 
what  might  have  happened.  We  landed  on  a  pretty 
island  for  breakfast.  Then,  late  in  the  afternoon,  we 
went  up  an  interior  lagoon,  when  our  boatman  steered 
for  the  shore.  We  passed  through  a  lot  of  mangroves, 
stepped  out  on  the  bank,  and  buried  in  that  dense  jungle 
we  found  two  ranchos.  There  we  passed  the  night.  The 
early  part  of  it  was  made  somewhat  exciting  by  a  num- 
ber of  scorpions,  that  dropped  from  the  roof  to  the  floor. 
Now  scorpions  are  in  no  sense  companionable ;  in  fact, 
they  have  business  ends  at  both  terminals.  The  scorpion 
is  a  lobster  in  miniature,  with  this  difference,  that  whfle 
the  lobster  can  only  bite  in  front,  the  scorpion  can  bite 
in  front  and  sting  with  his  tail.     Having  evicted  the 


200  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

scorpions  we  made  a  fairish  night  of  it,  and  then  started 
away  inland  across  more  savannas,  noting  the  geology 
of  the  country  and  the  like.  We  saw  many  things  that 
recalled  what  Humboldt  had  referred  to  as  the  fearful 
cataclysm  that  had  wrought  such  destruction  in  Col- 
ombia in  early  days. 

The  mountain  seemed  to  be  farther  off  and  farther  off, 
and  -at  last  getting  to  a  small  native  settlement,  we  de- 
cided that  time  would  not  permit  of  our  going  there. 
The  atmosphere  was  so  clear  that  it  seemed  near  by,  and 
the  guide,  in  the  hope  of  extracting  more  money,  lied 
with  a  fluency  that  would  have  been  absolutely  admir- 
able had  we  not  been  the  intended  victims  of  his  deceit. 
We  spent  some  hours  at  that  point  photographing  the 
natives  in  their  houses,  and  got  back  to  our  boat  and 
stood  down  towards  the  open  sea.  We  made  the  island 
called  Isla  de  los  Muertos.  I  was  particularly  anxious 
to  see  this  island,  as  I  was  told  that  on  it  there  was  a 
seam  of  coal.  It  was  supposed  to  be  haunted,  and  there 
were  wild  pigs  there  and  other  interesting  things.  We 
found  the  seam  of  coal  with  a  strata  of  clay  above  it, 
and  brought  away  some  specimens.  Some  of  the  latter 
I  sent  to  the  late  Prof.  Spencer  Baird,  then  secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian  in  Washington. 

Apropos  of  the  coal  I  shall  cite  the  following :  * 

"Messrs.  Whiting  and  Schuman,  in  their  report  in 
1851,  on  the  coal  formation  of  the  Island  of  Muerto,  near 
David  in  Chiriqui,  say  they  found  monuments  and  col- 
umns covered  with  hieroglyphics  similar  to  those  dis- 
covered by  Stephens  in  Yucatan." 

The  majority  of  the  natives  in  that  part  of  the  country 
are  Indians.  A  custom  obtains  among  the  women  that 
I  believe  is  peculiar  to- that  part  of  the  country.  This  is 
the  peculiar  way  that  they  have  of  pointing  their  teeth. 
After  their  teeth  are  fully  developed  they  are  chipped 
away  from  a  central  point  in  each  tooth  to  its  upper 
edge,  and  what  remains  is  a  V-shaped  piece  with  a  point 
below.    The  corresponding  tooth  is  chipped  away  in  the 

*  "  Antiquities  and  Ethnology  of  South  America."    London,  1880. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  301 

same  manner,  and  when  in  apposition  the  teeth  look  like 
a  couple  of  white  saws  placed  teeth  to  teeth.  It  is  a 
practice  peculiar  to  the  women,  and  is  done  by  them  for 
ornamentation. 

Apropos  of  another  tribe  of  Indians  in  a  distant  part 
of  Colombia  I  shall  cite  Holton,*  who  says:  "  One  curi- 
ous custom  of  the  Goajiros  I  suspect  may  have  extended 
to  other  tribes.  A  maternal  uncle  was  counted  a  nearer 
relative  than  the  father.  The  reason  given  by  one  of 
them  was  this :  '  The  child  of  a  man's  wife  may  be  his  or 
it  may  not ;  but  beyond  a  perad venture  the  son  of  the 
daughter  of  his  mother  must  be  his  nephew.'  I  am  in- 
clined to  think  that  in  some  nations  of  South  American 
Indians,  not  only  property,  but  also  crowns,  have  de- 
scended according  to  this  very  unconfiding  law." 

The  reasoning  of  the  Brazilian  Indian  under  trying 
circumstances  was  as  follows :  He  was  going  through  a 
piece  of  forest  that  bore  a  bad  reputation,  and  he  said : 
"  San  Juan  es  muy  bueno.  San  Jose  tambien.  El 
diablo  no  es  tan  mal  muchachito."  This  literally  trans- 
lated reads  as  follows:  "  St.  John  is  very  good,  and  so  is 
St.  Joseph."  Then  there  was  a  pause,  and.  having  ap- 
peased his  titular  saints,  he  said:  "The  devil  is  not  a 
bad  little  fellow."  This  man  was  trading  on  both  sides 
of  the  market. 

*  "  New  Granada ; "  Holton,  New  York. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A  SANCOCHO — EDUCATION  ON  THE  ISTHMUS — FIRES  IN  PAN- 
AMA AND  COLON — THE  PANAMA  CAF^S — COLOMBIAN 
ETIQUETTE — YELLOW  FEVEK  AMONG  THE  CONSULAR 
CORPS. 

A  SANCOCHO  is  an  appetizing  dish ;  it  contains  a  little 
of  everything,  and  in  that  respect  it  bears  a  strong  re- 
semblance to  this  chapter. 

Education  on  the  Isthmus  is  largely  in  the  hands  of 
the  clergy  to-day,  and  under  the  new  laws  just  promul- 
gated the  Church  practically  has  control  of  the  general 
schools.  There  is  a  ladies'  college  in  Panama  known 
under  the  name  of  Esperanza  College.  The  teachers  are 
Americans  and  Canadians.*  The  principal  has  had  a 
vast  deal  of  experience,  and  in  her  able  hands  the 
college  has  been  doing  noble  work.  It  is  absolutely  non- 
sectarian.  The  work  that  has  been  done  there  for  the 
last  seven  years  must  exert  a  wonderful  influence  on  the 
future  of  the  State  of  Panama.  The  young  girls  trained 
there  have  received  the  soundest  of  educations,  as 
understood  among  English-speaking  people.  To  my 
mind  it  is  quite  the  equivalent  of  missionary  work  of 
the  best  kind,  in  that  it  is  eminently  practical.  The 
girls  of  to-day  will  be  the  mothers  of  the  next  genera- 
tion, and  in  their  home  influence  will  bring  to  bear  all 
the  excellent  training  received  in  Esperanza  College.  If 
there  is  a  bright  and  cheery  outlook  on  the  Isthmus,  and 
one  full  of  hope  for  the  future,  it  will  result  from  the 
noble  work  done  by  these  ladies. 

In  referring  to  the  orchids  of  the  department  of 
Chiriqui,  I  omitted  to  make  reference  to  a  beautiful 

*"  Eucyclopeedia  Britannica,"  Ed.  1885. 
202 


TowEK  OF  Catukdral  OF  St.  Anastasius,  Old  Panama  ; 
Fifteenth  Century. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  203 

flower,  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  plant  belongs  to 
the  orchid  family,  although  its  roots  are  planted  in  the 
ground,  and  it  obtains  its  nourishment  there,  instead  of 
being  a  parasite  on  a  tree.  The  plant  may  briefly  be 
described  by  stating  that  it  bears  a  strong  resemblance 
to  the  hollyhock  before  the  flower  is  developed.  There 
is  a  fleshy  stalk,  growing  from  two  to  three  feet  high 
and  what  looks  like  green  capsules  at  right  angles  to  it. 
These  vary  in  size  and  number  according  to  the  age  of  the 
plant.  As  these  pods  approach  maturity  they  lose  their 
green  color  and  little  by  little  take  on  a  dull  alabaster 
white.  Their  petals  compose  the  flower.  When  quite 
mature  this  opens  and  the  upper  petal  flies  up,  and 
within  is  a  chapel  of  alabaster  in  miniature,  and  in  the 
upper  part,  back,  a  dove  with  drooping  wings.  The 
resemblance  is  perfect  and  it  is  from  the  dove  that  the 
name  is  taken,  the  Flower  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  some 
of  the  plants  the  dove's  beak  is  tipped  with  crimson. 
The  dove-like  form  is  produced  by  the  stamens  and  pis- 
tils. This  pretty  flower  is  described  at  length  in  Otis' 
book.*  While  hundreds  and  thousands  of  specimens 
have  been  sent  off  to  foreign  countries  and  placed  in  hot 
houses,  I  know  of  but  two  instances  where  it  has  flowered 
off  the  Isthmus. 

The  Isthmus  of  Panama  in  the  past  was  noted  for  its 
magnificent  roses.  As  far  as  I  know  there  are  but  one  or 
two  of  these  rose  trees  remaining  there.  One  of  the  two 
that  I  refer  to  is  within  the  grounds  of  the  late  Dr. 
Pachecho.  The  roses  are  of  wondrous  beauty  and  per- 
fect fragrance.  In  temperate  dimes  the  plant  would  be 
a  bush,  but  there,  in  that  wealth  of  sunshine  and  moist- 
ure, it  develops  into  a  young  tree,  as  thick  through,  in 
some  places,  as  the  wrist  of  a  man. 

A  careless  and  unobservant  traveller,  writing  on  the 
tropics,  has  said :  ' '  The  birds  are  without  song  and  the 
flowers  without  odor."  If  ever  there  was  a  gratuitous 
libel  it  is  this.  The  flowers  within  the  tropics  are  noted 
for  their  wonderful  fragrance,  and  it  may  not  be  known 

*"  The  Isthmus  of  Panama;  "  Otis,  New  York. 


204  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

that  even  the  orchid  family,  which  furnishes  the  most 
wonderful  of  flowers,  at  night  exhales  a  delightful  per- 
fume. It  is  qviite  true  that  during  the  day  these  plants  are 
devoid  of  it.  As  to  the  second  allegation,  that  the  birds 
are  without  song,  I  must  say  that  that  good  man  prob- 
ably saw  no  other  bird  than  the  turkey  buzzard.  The 
birds  in  the  tropics  are  noted  for  their  plumage, — some 
of  the  most  gorgeous  are  found  there,  and  they  are 
as  full  of  song  as  birds  elsewhere.  I  have  never  seen 
that  quotation  used,  without  thinking  that  it  is  possible 
for  an  able  man  to  travel  far,  learn  little,  and  know  less 
about  his  surroundings. 

Etiquette  in  Colombia  is  largely  the  reverse  of  every- 
thing that  obtains  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  races.  Let  us 
say  one  arrives  in  Panama.  According  to  the  etiquette 
of  the  place,  which  is  the  same  as  that  in  Spain,  he  sends 
his  cards  to  such  families  as  he  wishes  to  have  call  on  him. 
Then  within  a  few  daj^s  they  make  the  call.  The  first 
call  is  de  rigueiir,  but  the  question  of  the  second  stands 
upon  the  same  footing  as  with  us.  In  addition  to  the 
P.  P.  C.  cards  when  leaving,  it  is  customary  to  insert  a 
brief  notice  in  the  local  paper,  under  the  heading  ' '  Des- 
pedida."  This  is  a  sort  of  general  farewell,  in  which  the 
individual  places  himself  at  the  disposal  of  his  friends 
while  -abroad. 

On  the  Isthmus,  as  in  other  Spanish  countries  visited 
by  me,  there  is  but  little  informal  calling ;  for  it  will  be 
safe  to  say  that  unless  you  are  intimately  acquainted 
in  the  house  an  informal  visit  would  not  be  considered 
strictly  in  good  taste.  It  is  customary  to  Say  during  the 
day  that  you  will  call  during  the  evening.  This  gives 
the  ladies  of  the  house  the  time  that  all  Spanish  women 
— and  the  majority  of  others — deem  so  necessary  for 
getting  ready.  Of  course,  among  the  limited  foreign  cir- 
cles in  such  places  the  calling  is  as  with  us. 

Let  us  say  that  we  are  going  to  call  upon  some- 
body. We  are  ushered  into  a  parlor  nicely  furnished. 
In  the  centre  of  the  room  there  is  a  table  and  on  either 
side  of  it,  facing  inwards,  are  two  rows  of  rocking  chairs. 
In  these  the  guests  sit  and  rock  while  chatting.    As 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  205 

other  guests  come  in  they  join  the  row,  and  you  will 
have  six  or  eight  chatting  away  as  merrily  as  possible 
and  rocking  vigorously.  It  is  somewhat  a  novel  sight 
at  first,  but  that  arrangement  of  rocking  chairs  is  not 
peculiar  to  the  Isthmus ;  I  have  noticed  it  time  and  time 
again  in  Spanish  countries.  It  takes  foreigners  a  very 
long  time  to  acquire  this  essentially  Spanish  custom. 
The  idea  of  making  a  formal  call  and  rocking  seems 
inconsistent,  and  the  astonishment  of  some  foreigners 
is  plain. 

The  hospitality  is  most  pleasing,  and  the  Colombians, 
in  keeping  with  the  same  class  in  Porto-Rico,  Mexico, 
and  Spain,  have  charming  manners  and  are  the  most 
gracious  and  affable  of  people.  I  can  best  convey  my 
idea  by  saying  that  it  is  French  politeness  of  the  best 
kind  somewhat  accentuated. 

A  hint  to  one  class  of  my  readers.  If  a  young  man 
calls  at  a  house  where  there  are  daughters,  more  than 
twice,  and  he  is  single,  it  may  lead  to  some  talk ;  if  he 
calls  two  or  three  times  more  the  family  may  think  that 
his  intentions  are  serious,  and  some  friend  of  the  family 
would  be  fully  justified  in  asking  what  his  intentions 
are.  This  sort  of  knowledge  has  a  decidedly  chilling 
effect  upon  many  young  men,  whose  intentions  though 
pure,  are  not  matrimonial.  As  my  readers  will  gather 
from  this  statement,  it  discourages  general  visiting. 

The  Colombians  are  very  fond  of  music,  singing  and 
dancing;  and  their  balls  are  most  enjoyable.  They 
dance  quadrilles  in  a  manner  somewhat  different  from 
the  American  style  and  more  like  the  English.  They 
have  slow  time  polkas,  dance  to  the  most  dreamy  of 
music,  and  they  really  dance  divinamente,  or  divinely. 
More  graceful  people,  both  male  and  female,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  find,  and  as  a  lady  once  said  to  me,  in 
speaking  of  her  daughter,  a  beautiful  girl,  "It  is  in  the 
blood." 

A  dance  of  which  outsiders  have  but  little,  if  any, 
knowledge,  is  the  danzita.  Perhaps  I  can  best  describe 
it  by  saying  that  it  resembles  a  Circassian  circle.  As 
many  as  fifty  or  sixty  couples  dance  to  the  music  of  a 


206  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

dreamy  waltz  in  a  lai'ge  room,  and  then,  at  a  given  note 
of  the  music,  they  stop  and  dance  vis-a-vis  with  the 
couple  next  to  them ;  then,  when  the  time  changes,  they 
again  go  on  with  the  slow-time  waltz.  It  is  a  very  pretty 
sight.  The  music  is  essentially  Spanish,  and  on  the 
Isthmus  a  guitar-like  instrument  is  considered  indispen- 
sable in  giving  the  time. 

Mourning  in  some  of  the  Spanish  countries  is  the 
dreariest  sort  of  apparel.  Despite  the  intense  heat  and 
moisture  they  will  cover  themselves  with  the  blackest 
of  black  and  wear  it  almost  interminably,  say  for  one 
to  two  years.  The  injury  done  the  upper  classes  by  this 
practice,  looking  at  it  from  a  medical  standpoint,  is  very 
great.  It  is  also  customary  to  cover  the  frames  of  the 
pictures  in  the  house  with  mourning  bows,  and  to  throw 
all  the  gloom  and  oppressiveness  possible  into  their  sur- 
roundings. In  some  of  the  Spanish  West  Indies  the 
young  people  of  the  house,  when  they  have  lost  a  father 
or  mother,  are  barely  seen  out  of  doors  for  twelve 
months,  and  the  inner  blinds  of  their  houses  are  kept 
closed  day  and  night. 

The  native  jewelers  of  the  Isthmus  have  made  some 
fame  for  themselves  by  their  novel  creations  in  gold  and 
pearls.  They  make  watch  chains  and  neck  chains  of  the 
finest  gold  threads,  which  are  beautifully  woven  together 
and  are  deemed  great  curios.  Some  of  the  native 
jewelry,  in  which  the  pearls  of  the  gulf  are  worked  up  in 
gold  settings,  is  very  attractive  and  chaste.  The  lower 
class  of  natives  are  very  fond  of  wearing  gold  coins 
both  for  necklaces  and  as  earrings.  To  see  a  native 
woman,  almost  as  black  as  night,  in  full  dress,  is  a  sight. 
The  pollera  is  an  ample  garment,  covering  the  upper  part 
of  their  person.  It  is  low  necked — very  much  so — and 
from  its  upper  portion,  towards  the  waist,  there  are  from 
three  to  four  flounces — that  is,  they  would  be  called  floun- 
ces if  they  were  lower  down,  only  they  don't  put  them  at 
that  end.  Around  their  ample  black  necks  they  wear 
these  chains  of  coins  and  pearls,  oftentimes  of  consider- 
able value,  with  ear-rings  of  native  manufacture,  and 
they  very  often  have  flowers  in  their  hair.    At  times 


FIVJS  Y£:ARS  at  PANAMA.  207 

they  wear  a  mantilla.  The  dress  generally  is  of  some 
white  fabric.  Their  splay  feet  are  thrust  into  slippers  of 
the  most  violent  colors — pink  and  green  or  yellow. 
Stockings  are  not  deemed  a  necessary  part  of  their  wear- 
ing apparel.  You  will  see  these  people  dressed  in  this 
way,  trudging  to  church,  with  Panama  hats  on  their 
heads.  If  a  slight  tropical  breeze  is  blowing,  their  skirts 
flutter,  showing  their  gorgeous  slippers  and  feet  bare  of 
stockings.  It  is  a  matter  of  general  belief  that  the  dress 
is  the  sole  garment  the j  have  on,  and  I  think  the  general 
belief  in  this  matter  is  accurate. 

While  it  is  quite  true  that  the  state  of  Panama  has  a 
board  of  health,  so  called,  there  is  no  sanitary  police 
force,  that  is,  in  the  pay  of  the  government.  I  have 
already  referred  to  the  gallinazos  or  turkey  buzzards, 
which  probably  furnished  that  rash  man  with  the  state- 
ment that  the  birds  are  without  song.  These  birds  are 
as  large  as  a  good  sized  hen.  They  are  as  black  as  night 
and  are  noteworthy  objects  with  all  strangers.  They 
may  be  seen  perched  on  the  trees  and  on  the  housetops. 
They  form  the  corps  of  sanitary  police,  and  doubtless 
are  most  valuable  agents,  from  a  medical  point  of  vieAV, 
There  is  a  king  bird  among  the  gallinazos,  and  he  has  a 
red  head  instead  of  a  black  one.  His  sway  among  his 
fellows  is  something  astonishing.  Ordinarily  these  birds 
will  fight  vigorously  over  carrion,  which  is  their  favorite 
diet.  They  will  pick  dead  animals  clean  in  an  incred- 
ibly short  time — fighting,  struggling,  tearing  away  at 
anything  they  can  get  off  the  bones.  If  a  king-bird 
wants  food,  and  lights  among  them,  they  will  draw  off 
to  a  distance  with  a  deference  that  is  simply  wonderful. 
I  had  read  of  this  time  and  time  again,  and  I  have  seen 
it.  On  the  wing  the  gallinazos  are  probably  the  most 
graceful  of  birds ;  they  fly  many  hundred  feet  from  the 
earth,  and  Darwin,  in  his  admirable  book,  refers  to  the 
great  beauty  of  their  flight,  and  is  of  the  opinion  that  it 
is  connected  with  their  mating.  * 

The  Isthmus  of  Panama  is  noted  for  its  alligators,  and 

*  "  Darwin's  Voyages ;  "  London. 


208  F/Fi;  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

there  are  big  ones  and  little  ones.  Many  of  the  old  ones 
are  from  twelve  to  sixteen  feet  long,  and  they  are  dan- 
gerous to  a  degree.  At  the  time  of  Ojeadas'  settlement 
in  the  Darien  they  were  as  abundant  as  now,  and  an  ac- 
count is  giving  in  Washington  Irving's  "  Voyages  of  the 
Early  Spanish  Discoverers  "  of  a  horse  which,  while  cross- 
ing a  stream  in  the  Darien,  was  dragged  under  by  a  huge 
alligator.  They  are  on  both  sides  of  the  Isthmus.  Twice 
while  making  boat  trips  in  the  Bay  of  Panama,  1  have 
seen  large  alligators  two  or  three  miles  from  the  shore. 
Their  method  of  swimming  and  their  spiny  backs  have 
probably  given  rise  to  the  many  stories  regarding  sea- 
serpents. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  a  lot  of  pigmy  Indians  reach 
Panama  from  the  interior.  They  do  not  speak  Spanish 
and  are  led  by  a  man  who  seems  to  be  their  chief. 
They  go  about  making  their  purchases  and  then  disap- 
pear until  the  following  year.  It  is  said  that  these  men 
live  hundreds  of  miles  away  in  the  interior,  and  while 
they  nominally  are  Colombians,  they  acknowledge  no 
sovereignty  save  that  of  their  chiefs.  Certain  it  is  that 
no  control  is  attempted,  and  certain  it  is  also  that  they 
will  allow  no  white  man  to  penetrate  into  their  countiy. 
These  Indians  cause  one  much  speculation.  They  are 
short,  stumpy  and  strong;  they  have  long  black  hair, 
black  eyes,  and  a  bronze  skin.  I  never  was  able  to  obtain 
any  satisfactory  information  regarding  these  people  or 
their  customs  or  habits. 

On  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  as  in  Cuba  and  in  the 
mother  country,  one  finds  a  cock-pit  with  the  same 
absolute  certainty  that  he  finds  a  lot  of  churches.  In 
Spanish  America  bull-teasings  and  cock-fights  are  the 
pastimes.  In  Spain  it  is  cock-fighting  and  bull-fights. 
A  Spanish  bull-fight,  properly  so  called,  is  best  read 
of.  I  never  saw  but  one  and  I  never  expect  to  see 
another,  for  of  all  the  barbarous,  cruel  things,  it  is  the 
worst.  Any  reader  desirous  of  obtaining  a  clear  idea  of 
bull-fighting  in  Spain,  I  would  recommend  to  read 
Gauthier's  admirable  book.* 

*  "  Voyage  en  Espagne;  "  Gautliier,  Paris,  1840. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  209 

Cock-fights  at  the  pit  were  held,  on  Sunday  morning. 
A  gentleman  well  known  on  the  Isthmus  is  very  fond 
of  that  pastime,  and  he  has  been  known  to  wager  as  much 
as  a  thousand  dollars  on  a  bird.  Once,  while  on  a  flying 
visit  to  the  Island  of  Toboga,  after  having  breakfasted 
with  a  medical  friend,  a  Cuban,  I  saw  a  cock-fight.  My 
confrere  doffed  his  professional  coat,  put  on  a  light 
blouse  and  covered  his  head  with  a  Panama  hat.  His 
bird  was  brought  out,  and  he  looked  that  cock  over  in  the 
same  minute  way  and  with  much  the  same  satisfaction 
that  a  mother  does  her  first  born.  He  put  the  bird  under 
his  arm  and  went  off  to  the  village  of  Restingue.  My 
knowledge  of  cock-fights  was  nil,  but  I  observed  that 
the  doctor's  bird  had  only  one  serviceable  eye.  This 
seemed  to  impair  his  value  from  my  standpoint,  but 
I  was  told  that  he  could  fight  just  as  well  with  one  eye 
as  two.  I  was  accompanied  by  a  friend  from  the  city 
and  we  became  interested  spectators.  While  I  should 
have  preferred  a  two-eyed  bird,  deference  to  my  confrere 
led  to  my  putting  up  a  peso  on  his  monocular  specimen. 
We  will  call  him  the  bird  of  the  first  part.  The  bird  of 
the  second  part  was  a  lively,  gamy  fellow.  Both  had 
sharpened  spurs.  I  felt  that  my  peso  was  gone  from  the 
start.  Now  a  cock-fight  is  conducted  largely  in  this 
wise : 

The  proprietors  of  the  birds  take  them  in  their  hands 
and  sway  them  to  and  fro,  and  then  let  them  go.  The 
birds  are  born  fighters,  and  the  savage  way  in  which 
they  attack  each  other  is  simply  astonishing.  Soon  all 
is  blood  and  feathers. 

Our  bird  was  the  heavier  and  was  a  pure  white.  The 
other  fellow  was  of  the  true  game-cock  breed,  and  he 
punished  our  bird  severely.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  half  the  village  turned  out.  The  sympathy  of  the 
crowd  was  with  the  bird  on  which  they  had  bet  their 
money.  If  the  supplications  to  their  titular  saints  in 
church  are  at  all  in  proportion  to  the  earnestness  of  their 
remarks  on  this  occasion,  I  should  believe  the  whole  of 
that  lot  saved,  for  they  called  on  every  saint  in  the  calen- 
dar and  swore  loudly  by  sacred  names.  Sometimes  they 
14 


210  FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA. 

would  drop  down  on  their  hands  and  knees  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  fight.  When  their  bird  succeeded  in  using  his  spur, 
up  would  go  a  cheer  from  their  side;  and  when  their 
bird  was  punished  we  felt  correspondingly  jubilant. 
The  fighting  was  fierce,  and  judging  from  the  faces  of  all 
present,  one  would  have  fancied  that  the  greatest  of 
international  questions  was  being  settled  on  the  spot. 
The  fight  went  on  and  on,  and  at  last  our  bird  began  to 
give  visible  tokens  of  failure ;  for  the  gamy  little  cock 
of  the  second  part  seemed  to  have  hammered  him  all  to 
pieces.  Suddenly  our  one-eyed  friend  got  in  a  savage 
blow,  driving  one  of  his  spurs  into  the  neck  of  the  other 
fellow.  This  took  the  fight  out  of  him  completely.  It  is 
customary  in  those  countries  as  in  other  barbaric  cen- 
tres, to  allow  the  birds  to  "  fight  to  a  finish."  I  presume 
that  is  what  John  L.  Sullivan  would  call  it.  At  last  the 
small  bird  couldn't  stand  up.  His  head  was  a  mass  of 
blood.  His  owner  then  proceeded  to  re-invigorate  him. 
He  mixed  a  little  brandy  and  water  and  took  a  mouth- 
ful of  it,  when  he  passed  the  gory  head  of  the  bird  into 
his  mouth.  This  seemed  to  me  to  betoken  considerable 
affection,  and  it  was  at  once  novel  and  interesting. 
Then  taking  more  brandy  and  water  in  his  mouth 
he  sprayed  his  bird  vigorously  with  it.  After  a  time 
the  bird  could  just  totter  about,  and  then  they  were 
allowed  to  go  at  each  other  again.  The  little  fellow 
became  sufficiently  invigorated  to  give  the  coup  de 
grace  to  the  white  bird,  and  I  handed  over  my  peso. 
That  was  my  first  and  last  cock-fight.  It  is  a  barbarous 
pastime,  and  I  don't  recommend  it  to  any  one  else,  but 
simply  incorporate  an  account  of  it  here  because  it  is 
one  of  the  national  amusements  both  in  Spain  and  Cen- 
tral America. 

Following  the  advent  of  the  canalers  a  great  many 
Parisian  customs  were  grafted  upon  the  Isthmus,  among 
others  the  introduction  of  neat  little  tables  that  were 
placed  in  front  of  the  cafes  in  the  afternoon  and  evening, 
where  natives  and  foreigners  could  have  their  cocktail 
or  their  absinthe  and  water.  To  one  not  familiar  with 
France  or  parts  of  Spanish  America,  sitting  in  the  open, 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  211 

uncovered,  and  having  drinks,  seems  somewhat  strange. 
It  was  also  customary  to  serve  ices  in  the  main  plaza, 
and  it  was  quite  the  correct  thing  to  take  one's  lady 
friends  there  to  have  an  ice.  During  the  grand  moon- 
light nights  of  the  dry  season  it  was  a  very  pleasant  way 
of  passing  a  few  minutes. 

The  city  of  Panama  figures  in  history  for  its  fires.  In 
1737  modern  Panama  was  swept.  Then  it  was  that  the 
Jesuit  College  was  burned  and  the  churches  of  San  Fran 
Cisco  and  Santo  Domingo.  In  1878  there  was  a  big  fire 
there,  and  in  1884  I  saw  a  very  large  one,  that  destroyed 
dozens  of  houses  and  upwards  of  a  million  dollars'  worth 
of  buildings  and  stock.  The  city  of  Colon  was  destroyed 
by  fire  on  the  31st  day  of  March,  1885,  resulting  in  a  loss 
of  twelve  millions  of  dollars,  when  great  damage  was 
done  the  Panama  Railroad  and  a  huge  loss  was  inflicted 
upon  the  Panama  Canal  Company,  that  had  at  that  time 
many  large  and  valuable  buildings  and  storehouses  in 
the  city,  and  they  were  all  swept  away.  The  loss  to  the 
railroad  practically  was  a  loss  to  the  Canal  Company, 
for  the  road  was  theirs.  The  damage  to  canal  interests 
was  over  one  million  of  dollars,  and  that  at  a  very 
modest  estimate.  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  the 
company  claimed  to  have  lost  nothing,  and  if  their 
storehouses,  private  residences,  offices,  machinery,  and 
railroad  plant,  cost  nothing,  I  quite  agree  with  them. 

The  old  bells  of  the  city  of  Panama  will  probably 
afford  new-comers  more  distraction  than  they  will  care 
for.  They  ring  at  all  seasons — or  rather  they  are  ham- 
mered with  bars  of  iron,  and  as  all  the  churches  have 
bells  of  different  types,  when  well  beaten,  they  give 
forth  different  notes.  I  don't  know  what  kind  of  music 
it  is  supposed  to  be,  but  it  may  be  Wagnerian.  An  inti- 
mate friend  of  mine,  then  and  now  on  the  Isthmus,  who 
is  famous  for  his  bon  mots,  summarized  their  ringing 
and  the  odors  of  Panama  by  saying,  "It  is  a  city  of 
damnable  sounds  and  abominable  smells." 

Panama  has  no  water  supply.  Water  is  carried  about 
there  in  carts  and  sold  by  the  bucketful.  If  it  were  pure 
water  it  would  be  less  objectionable,  but  it  is  furnished 


212  FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA. 

from  the  old  wells  built  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city 
upwards  of  two  hundred  years  ago  by  the  Spaniards.  I 
have  referred  to  Don  Nicanor  Obarrio's  concession  for 
burying  the  dead.  In  a  little  ravine  adjoining  that 
much  used  cemetery  there  are  three  old  wells.  They  are 
within  100  feet  of  the  cemetery,  and  being  many  feet 
below  they  naturally  receive  its  drainage.  Strange  and 
incredible  as  it  may  seem,  lie  sells  that  water  to  the 
aquadores,  or  watermen,  -and  they  in  tia*n  sell  it  in  the 
city.  This  custom  was  denounced  both  by  the  late  Mr. 
John  Stiven  and  myself ;  and  the  then  president  of  Pan- 
ama, a  light  colored  mulattcf,  Don  Damaso  Cervera, 
promised  that  when  that  new  cemetery  was  fairly  under 
way  this  abuse  should  stop.  It  didn't  stop,  and  people 
drink  cemetery  drainage  and  expect  to  be  well. 

I  see  by  recent  news  from  the  Isthmus,  that  it  is  prom- 
ised a  system  of  water-works.  I  can  recollect  as  far 
back  as  1884  when  the  Isthmus  was  busy  to  a  degree  and 
bright  with  hope,  because  water-works  were  promised 
then.  In  fact,  I  wrote  some  editorial  matter  for  the 
Star  mid  Herald  regarding  them,  but  nothing  ever  came 
of  it,  and  now  that  M.  de  Lesseps'  scheme  is  in  a  mori- 
bund condition  and  business  on  the  Isthmus  is  depressed, 
I,  for  one,  have  little  or  no  faith  in  the  statement  that 
they  will  build  water-works. 

While  yellow  fever  has  swept  off  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands, its  inroad  upon  the  consular  corps  has  been  very 
marked,  the  more  so  owing  to  the  prominence  of  the 
victims.  The  first  cases  that  I  recall  were  those  of  the 
French  consul,  M.  Sempe,  and  his  wife.  He  was  a  new- 
comer, and  he  died  one  day  of  yellow  fever,  and  his 
wife  died  the  next.  They  had  been  married  but  three 
months,  and  she,  poor  gii'l,  was  buried  in  her  wedding 
dress.  They  occupy  one  grave  in  the  foreign  cemetery. 
Later  the  chancelier  of  the  same  consulate  died,  and  so 
did  his  wife.  His  successor  and  his  wife  also  died. 
Within  five  months  of  each  other  last  year,  two  Italian 
consuls  had  been  swept  away,  and  another  French  con- 
sul. The  Spanish  consul  and  his^  wife  both  sickened 
with  yellow  fever,  and  when  she  recovered  she  fovmd 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  213 

that  her  husband  had  died  and  been  buried.  I  can  re- 
call two  cases  in  the  American  consulate.  The  first 
died,  and  the  second  was  given  up,  but  thanks  to  a  good 
constitution  and  abstemious  habits,  he  recovered.  A 
servant  that  was  in  attendance  on  one  of  these  cases 
died. 

Out  in  the  cemetery  are  numbers  of  the  consular  corps 
of  former  days.  In  the  British  consulate  the  burial 
record  in  the  foreign  cemetery  is  kept.  The  first  entry 
was  on  the  14th  of  June,  1826,  and  it  records  the  death 
of  Mr.  Lemesurier,  one  of  the  secretaries  to  Mr.  Daw- 
kins'  Commission  to  the  historic  Panama  Congress.  The 
cause  of  his  death  was  stated  to  be  "  fever  of  the  coun- 
try. "  On  the  14th  of  July,  or  one  month  later,  is  another 
record.  It  is  the  death  of  a  Mr.  Childers,  likewise  a  sec- 
retary of  Mr.  Dawkins'  British  Commission  to  the  Isth- 
mus of  Panama,  from  yellow  fever.  I  have  examined 
that  record  book  time  and  time  again,  and  found  it  fuU 
of  information  to  the  student  of  yellow  fever.  Yellow 
fever  is  a  part  and  parcel  of  that  place,  and  owing  to  the 
absolute  want  of  care,  it  will  remain  so.  Quite  recently, 
in  a  conversation  with  a  Consul-General  of  Great  Britain 
on  a  visit  to  this  city,  we  chatted  over  Panama,  when  he 
said:  "It  is  customary  for  the  new  consul  to  send  his 
predecessor  home."  He  didn't  say  how,  but  he  meant  in 
a  coffin.  The  Isthmus  is  well  known  as  the  "Grave  of 
the  European." 

Headers  who  may  feel  inclined  to  look  into  the  litera- 
ture on  Panama,  will  find  much  instruction  in  Dr.  See- 
mann's  book.* 


*  "  History  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,"  by  Dr.  Berthold  Seemann. 
Panama,  1867. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A     GLIMPSE      OF      THE     EARLY     HISTORY     OF      THE      ISTHMUS — 
FORMER  CANAL  SCHEMES. 

As  the  matters  discussed  in  this  book  may  give  rise  to 
a  great  deal  of  criticism,  I  think  it  well  to  anticipate  my 
chapter  on  the  Panama  Canal  by  giving,  at  this  point,  a 
brief  resume  of  such  work  on  the  Isthmus  from  the 
earliest  times.  I  take  this  precaution  simply  to  throw 
safeguards  around  the  statements  of  facts  that  will  be 
found  in  this  volume.  In  citing  from  the  various  author- 
ities it  is  possible  that  in  one  or  two  places  there  may  be 
a  slight  repetition,  but  the  consensus  of  the  whole  will 
be  in  perfect  harmony  with  my  treatment  of  the  ques- 
tion. 

' '  The  Isthmus  of  Panama  is  that  portion  of  the  nar- 
row ridge  of  mountainous  country  connecting  Central 
and  South  America,  which  is  bounded  on  the  west  by 
the  frontier  of  Costa  Rica,  and  on  the  east  by  the  sur- 
veyed interoceanic  route  from  the  Bay  of  Caledonia  on 
the  north,  to  the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel  on  the  south  or  Pa- 
cific side. 

"  The  State  of  Panama  contains  the  provinces  of  Pan- 
ama, Azuero,  Chiriqui  and  Veraguas.  The  Isthmus 
throughout  is  traversed  by  a  chain  of  mountains.  The 
highest  peak  is  Pichaco,  7,200  feet  high,  in  the  west. 
The  area  of  the  State  of  Panama  is  29,756  square  miles; 
population,  220,542.  .  .  .  There  are  many  rivers  in  the 
State,  and  they  fall  into  both  oceans.  The  climate  is  un- 
healthy, except  in  the  interior  and  on  the  flanks  of  the 
mountains.  .  .  .  The  summit  of  the  railway  is  250  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  its  average  amount  of 
goods  traffic  yearly  is  60,000  tons,  realizing  £11.000,000 
sterling.  .  ,  .  Panama  is  chiefly  important,  however,  as 

214 


Sole  Residknce  at  Old  Panama. 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  215 

the  Pacific  terminus  of  the  Panama  railway.  Popula- 
tion of  Panama  City  18, 390.  The  former  city  of  Panama, 
the  seat  of  the  Spanish  colonial  govermnent,  established 
in  1518,  stood  six  miles  northeast  of  the  port  of  Panama. 
It  is  now  a  heap  of  ruins."  * 

According  to  the  authority  just  cited,  the  traffic  real- 
izes £11,000,000,  or  over  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  The 
error  is  manifest.  It  is  estimated  that  the  value  of 
goods  passing  over  the  railroad  is  some  fifty  millions  of 
dollars  per  annum.  The  traffic  receipts  of  the  Panama 
Railroad,  as  I  have  stated  elsewhere,  are  anywhere  from 
two  to  a  trifle  over  three  millions  of  dollars. 

I  have  already  dwelt  upon  the  number  of  islands  in 
the  Gvilf  of  Panama.  Some  of  these  possess  great  value 
if  considered  from  a  strategic  standpoint.  During  my 
residence  on  the  Isthmus,  time  and  again  officers  from 
the  foreign  men-of-war  have  made  surveys  in  the  gulf, 
with  a  view  of  ascertaining  the  depth  of  water  around 
some  of  the  important  islands.  I  was  told  by  the  pro- 
prietor of  one  important  island  in  the  gulf  that  some 
delicate  230 ur  parleui^s  had  been  made  on  behalf  of  a  con- 
tinental government,  with  a  view  of  transferring  an 
important  island  to  that  power,  really  to  be  used  as  a 
coaling  station,  the  sale  to  be  made  to  a  private  individ- 
ual, who  would  act  for  his  government.  The  power 
referred  to  was  neither  American,  English  or  French. 

"Beyond  the  peninsula  of  Azuero  the  coast  of  the 
Isthmus  is  broken  by  the  Bay  of  Montijo,  which  contains 
several  islands.  The  largest  of  these,  Coiba,  has  an  area 
of  180  square  miles  and  contains  the  port  of  Damas."t 
I  think  it  well  to  refer  specifically  to  this  island  for  a 
variety  of  reasons.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  islands  in  the 
Pacific,  well  watered,  rich  in  woods,  and  affording  excel- 
lent anchorage  close  in  shore.  | 

By  consulting  the  authority  that  I  have  referred  to 
here  much  valuable  and  instructive  information  wUl  be 


*  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia,  Vol.  VII.  ed.  1868. 
t  The  American  Cyclopaedia,  Vol.  XIII.  ed.  1879. 
i  The  "  Pacific  Pilot,"  Imrie,  London. 


216  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

obtained  regarding  this  island,  A  few  years  ago,  before 
the  government  of  Colombia  made  its  first  transfer  of 
land  to  the  Canal  Company,  a  commission  visited  that 
island.  It  was  sent  out  by  the  Canal  Company  from 
France ;  and  its  chief  was  M.  Harel,  a  brother-in-law  of 
Count  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps.  Among  many  others  in 
the  commission,  was  Lieutenant  Lalanne  and  Dr.  Cham- 
bon  of  the  French  navy.  It  would  seem  that  they  had 
been  sent  to  the  Isthmus  on  a  species  of  secret  commis- 
sion to  locate  lands,  but  really  with  a  view  of  securing 
the  large  and  important  island  of  Coiba. 

Secrets,  when  in  many  hands,  are  like  water  in  a  sieve 
— likely  to  be  lost.  At  a  dinner  given  at  the  house  of 
the  then  Superior  Agent  of  the  Canal  Company,  the  plan 
was  discussed— and  the  idea  of  securing  Coiba  as  a  point 
d'appui  for  M.  de  Lesseps'  company,  of  establishing 
thereon  a  French  colony,  was  fully  talked  over.  M.  de 
Lesseps'  commission,  instead  of  maintaining  rigid 
sQence,  talked.  Within  four  and  twenty  hours  a  news- 
paper letter  was  written  for  The  Gazette  (Montreal)  and 
a  cablegram  sent  to  the  Associated  Press  in  New  York. 
The  letter  to  the  Montreal  paper  was  mine ;  the  cable- 
gram to  the  Associated  Press  was  from  its  agent  there. 
M.  de  Lesseps  denied  the  matter  inside  of  six  and  twenty 
hours.  He  seems  to  live  in  a  perfect  atmosphere  of  con- 
tradictions and  reiterations.  Despite  the  fact  that  he 
had  no  ulterior  purposes  to  serve,  that  commission,  fully 
equii^ped,  paid  a  visit  to  the  Island  of  Coiba.  From 
there  they  proceeded  to  the  department  of  Chiriqui,  and, 
aft'er  an  absence  of  weeks,  returned  to  the  Isthmus,  and 
thence  to  France,  to  submit  their  report  to  the  Canal 
Company.  The  correspondents  who  furnished  the  infor- 
mation to  the  world  were  not  decorated.  Despite  M.  de 
Lesseps'  statement,  his  company  tried  to  secure  the 
island  as  a  part  of  the  concession,  but  the  scheme 
aborted,  owing  to  the  fact  that  certain  Colombians  had 
proprietary  rights  there.  I  have  skirted  the  shores  of 
Coiba,  and  it  is  a  large,  attractive  island,  well  wooded, 
the  highest  point,  writing  from  memory,  being  some  two 
hundred  and  odd  feet.     It  is  an  island  that  could  be  used 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  217 

in  the  most  effective  way  by  any  power,  if  the  Panama 
Canal  ever  becomes  a  fact. 

"  In  1698  William  Patterson  fomided  a  Scotch  colony 
at  Puerto  Escoces  (Scotch  Port)  in  Caledonia  Bay." 

As  stated  "  Panama  was  founded  in  1518  by  Pedrarias 
Davila"  about  six  mUes  northeast  of  the  present  site,  "to 
which  it  was  transferred  after  the  destruction  of  the  old 
site  by  the  buccaneers  in  1670.  It  has  suffered  much 
from  disastrous  fires:  in  1737,  when  it  was  almost  en- 
tirely destroyed,  and  1864,  1870  and  1874,  the  losses  for 
the  last  year  amounting  to  $1,000,000."  * 

"  Panama  has  a  large  commerce,  but  most  of  it  is  due 
to  the  transit  trade." 

The  Isthmus  of  Panama  has  derived  its  chief  impor- 
ance  from  its  supposed  facilities  for  the  construction  of 
an  interoceanic  canal.  Since  1528  the  idea  has  been 
mooted  of  opening  a  canal  between  the  river  Chagres 
(falling  into  the  Caribbean  Sea  at  the  town  of  the  same 
name.  The  Chagres  which  falls  into  the  Caribbean  a 
little  west  of  Limon  Bay,  is  navigable  for  bungoes  for 
about  thirty  miles)  and  the  Grande,  falling  into  the 
Pacific  near  Panama,  or  the  Trinidad  and  Camito. 

' '  The  route  was  examined  by  two  Flemish  engineers 
under  the  orders  of  Philip  II. ,  but  for  political  reasons 
the  king  ordered  that  no  one  should  revive  the  subject 
under  the  penalty  of  death."  t 

Canals  seem  to  have  been  as  dangerous  themes  to  han- 
dle in  those  days  as  in  ours,  but  it  is  a  trifle  startling  to 
find  that  the  penalty  of  death  hung  over  a  man  who 
gave  the  subject  of  canalization  publicity.  Associations 
for  the  advancement  of  science  certainly  were  not  popu- 
lar under  the  rule  of  that  iron-handed  king. 

"The  Isthmus,  in  a  wide  sense  of  the  word,  forms  a 
State,  one  of  the  United  States  of  Colombia,  extending 
from  the  frontier  of  Costa  Rica  to  that  of  the.  State  of 
Cauca  and  containing  six  departments — Code,  Colon, 

*  The  American  CyclopEedia,  Vol.  XIIT.  1879.    See  also  "History  of 
Isthmus  of  Panama,"  Seemann,  Panama. 
t  Ibidem. 


218  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

Chiriqui,  Los  Santos,  Panama  and  Veraguas.     Popula- 
tion of  State  285,000 Population  of  Panama  City 

18,378,  mostly  negroes  or  inula ttoes The  Isthmus 

of  Panama  was  formerly  called  the  Isthmus  of  Darien."* 

A  standard  authority  thus  describes  modern  Panama : 
"In  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  Panama 
was,  next  to  Carthagena,  the  strongest  fortress  in  South 
America,  but  its  massive  granite  ramparts,  constructed 
by  Alfonzo  Mercado  de  Villacorte  (1673),  in  some  places 
40  feet  high  and  60  feet  broad,  were  razed  on  the  land 
side  (where  they  separated  the  city  proper  from  the  sub- 
urbs of  Santa  Ana,  Pueblo,  Neuvo,  and  Arrabal)  and 
allowed  to  fall  into  a  ruinous  condition  towards  the  sea. 
....  The  Cathedral,  built  in  1760,  is  a  spacious  edifice, 
in  the  so-called  Jesuit  style,  and  its  two  lateral  towers 
are  the  loftiest  in  Central  America.  It  was  restored  in 
1873-6,  but  the  fagade  was  destroyed  and  columns  thrown 
down  by  the  earthquake  of  September  "7,  1882 

''In  the  rainy  season  streams  of  water  flow  down  the 
streets,  but  in  the  dry  season  the  city  is  dependent  on 
water  brought  in  carts  from  Matasnillo,  a  distance  of 
several  miles,  the  only  perennial  wells  which  it  possessed 
having  been  dried  by  the  earthquakes  of  March,  1883. 
....  Besides  the  Episcopal  Seminary  there  exists  a 
Sisters  of  Charity  School  and  Ladies  College,  with  teach- 
ers from  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

"  In  1870  the  population  of  Panama  City  (of  a  very 
varied  origin)  was  18,378;  by  1880  it  was  25,000,  of  whom 
about  5,000  were  strangers. 

"  Panama  (aji  Indian  word,  meaning  abounding  in 
fish)  was  founded  in  1518  by  Pedrarias  Davila,  and  is 
the  oldest  European  city  in  America,  the  older  settle- 
ment at  Santa  Maria  el  Antigua  near  the  Atrato  having 
been  abandoned  and  leaving  no  trace.  Originally  it  was 
situated  six  or  seven  miles  farther  north  on  the  left  side 
of  the  Rio  Algarrobo;  but  the  former  city,  which  was 
the  great  emporium  for  the  gold  and  silver  of  Peru,  and 
'  had  eight  monasteries,  a  cathedral  and  two  churches,  a 

*  Johnson's  Universal  Cyclopredia,  Vol.  VI.  New  York,  1887. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  219 

fine  hospital,  two  hundred  richly  furnished  houses, 
nearly  five  thousand  of  a  humbler  sort,  a  Genoese  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  and  two  hundred  warehouses,  was  after 
thi^"^^^^^S  ^f  Tapine  and  murder,  burned  February  24, 
1671,  by  Morg&n's  Buccaneers,  who  carried  otl:  one  hun- 
jrpd  mid  spivpniy-fivf]!  ]nfl.dpd  nrjnips  apdrnnrA  than  six 
hui^red^riso^rei'  (See  '  Travels  of  Pedro  de  Cieza"^ 
Leon,'  Hakluyt  Society,  1864.)  A  new  city  was  founded 
on  the  present  site  by  Villacorte  in  1673  ....  Popula- 
tion State  of  Panama,  1870,  was  221,053. 

"  A  proposal  to  pierce  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  was  made 
as  early  as  1520  by  Angel  Saavedra.  Cortez  caused  the 
Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec  to  be  surveyed  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  canal;  and  in  1550  Antonio  Galvao  suggested 
four  different  routes  for  such  a  scheme,  one  of  them 
being  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  In  1814  the  Span- 
ish Cortes  ordered  the  Viceroy  of  New  Spain  to  under- 
take the  piercing  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec;  but 
the  War  of  Independence  intervened,  and,  though  a  sur- 
vey was  made  by  General  Obegoso  in  1821  and  Jose  de 
Gamy  obtained  a  concession  for  a  canal  in  1842,  nothing 
was  accomplished.  Bolivar,  a  president  of  Colombia, 
caused  Messrs.  Lloyd  and  Palmare  to  study  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama.  Lloyd,  whose  paper  was  published  in  the 
'  Philosophical  Transactions, '  London,  1830,  proposed  to 
make  only  a  railway  from  Panama  to  Chorrera  to  the 
Rio  Trinidad  (tributary  of  the  Chagres),  and  to  estab- 
lish a  port  on  the  Bay  of  Limon.  M.  Napoleon  Garella, 
sent  out  by  the  French  government  in  1843,  advocated 
the  construction  of  a  sluiced  canal.  An  American  com- 
pany, stimulated  by  the  sudden  increase  of  traffic  across 
the  Isthmus,  caused  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia, commenced  in  1849  to  construct  a  railway,  and 
their  engineers,  Totten,  and  Trautwine,  already  known 
in  connection  with  the  canal  (El  Dique)  from  Carthagena 
to  the  Magdalena,  managed,  in  spite  of  the  extreme  diflB- 
culty  of  procuring  labor,  to  complete  the  work  in 
January,  1855.  Meanwhile  the  question  of  an  inter- 
oceanic  canal  was  not  lost  sight  of ;  and  in  1875  it  came 
up  for  discussion  in  the  Congres  des  Sciences  Geograph- 


220  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

iques  at  Paris.  A  society  under  the  control  of  General 
Tiirr  was  formed  for  prosecuting  the  necessary  explora- 
tions; and  Lieutenant  Wyse,  assisted  by  Celler,  A. 
Reclus  Bixio,  etc.,  was  sent  out  to  the  Isthmus  in  1876. 
In  1878,  the  Colombian  govei'nment  granted  the  society 
known  as  the  Civil  International  Interoceanic  Canal 
Society,  the  exclusive  privilege  of  constructing  a  canal 
between  the  two  oceans  through  the  Colombian  territory ; 
but  at  the  same  time  the  ports  and  canal  were  neutralized. 
In  1879,  M.  de  Lesseps  took  the  matter  up,  and  the  first 
meeting  of  his  company  was  held  in  1881.  The  capital 
necessary  for  the  '  Company  of  the  Interoceanic  Canal 
of  Panama,'  as  it  is  called,  was  stated  at  600,000,000 
francs,  the  estimated  cost  of  excavation  being  430,000,000, 
that  of  the  trenches  and  weirs  to  take  fresh  water  to  the 
sea,  46,000,000,  and  that  of  the  dock  and  tide  gates  on 
the  Pacific  side,  36,000,000.  The  Panama  Canal  (rail- 
way?) was  bought  for  $30,000,000.  The  contractors, 
Couvreux  and  Hersent,  began  operations  in  October  of 
the  same  year.  Meanwhile  the  United  States  govern- 
ment proposed  to  make  a  treaty  with  Colombia  by  which 
it  was  to  be  free  to  establish  forts,  arsenals  and  naval 
stations  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  though  no  forces 
were  to  be  maintained  during  peace.  But  the  British 
government  objected  to  any  such  arrangement."  * 

I  wish  to  call  attention  anew  to  General  Tiin-'s  society, 
formed,  following  the  Congres  de  Science  Geographiques, 
for  prosecuting  the  necessary  explorations,  and  to  the 
fact  that  his  brother-in-law,  Lieut.  Lucien  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  Wyse,  took  command  of  that  expedition. 
The  latter,  in  1886,  issued  a  book  in  Paris  under  the  title 
of  Le  Canal  de  Panama.  It  is  a  voluminous  tome, 
bound  in  half  leather  and  gilt.  I  have  a  copy  by  me. 
Lieut.  Lucien  Napoleon  Bonaparte  Wyse,  in  a  very 
lengthy  preface,  states  his  grievance,  which  is  largely  as 
follows :  He  it  was  who  made  the  remarkable  survey  that 
has  been  described  in  Lieutenant  Sullivan's  book;t  a 

*  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  Vol.  XVIII.  ed.  1885. 

t  "  Problem  of  Interoceanic  Communication,"  etc.,  Washington. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  221 

survey  made  for  about  two-thirds  the  distance  across  the 
Isthmus  and  projecting  beyond  that  point,  by  some 
occult  procedure  unknown  to  the  vulgar.  This  fact, 
however,  in  no  wise  interfered  with  his  making  an  esti- 
mate of  the  value  of  the  canal,  even  to  within  ten  per 
cent,  of  its  cost !  Lieutenant  Wyse  in  the  preface,  does 
not  seek  for  himself  any  glory  on  this  terrestrial  globe, 
but  he  does  feel  that  it  is  due  his  children  that  their 
father's  name  should  be  associated  with  that  great  enter- 
prise. As  Lieut.  Lucien  Napoleon  Bonaparte  Wyse's 
book  has  appeared  simply  in  French,  and  not  in  English, 
it  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  add  my  little  share  in 
allotting  to  him  all  the  credit  that  is  due  him.  Person- 
ally, I  shouldn't  have  the  slightest  ambition  to  have  my 
name  connected~wilh  aii  eulei'prise  ot  tliat  sort,  one  tn"ar 
'^11  result  in  the  most  hopeless  sort  of  failure  ever^ 
^own.        Lvhfy^Jf;   '^--j^P'^ta.*^,'' 

In  the  body  of  hiDbook^ieut.  Lucien  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte Wyse  deems  the  work  on  the  canal  of  an  extrava- 
gant nature,  and  in  the  lamest  way  possible  explains  his 
connection  with  certain  things  financial.  The  reader 
must  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that  the  Lieutenant 
went  out  to  the  Isthmus  in  command  of  the  first  expedi- 
tion, to  which  I  have  referred.  He  was  sent  out  to 
make  that  survey  de  novo.  At  that  packed  Congress  in 
Paris  in  1879  his  plan  was  to  be  adopted — and  it  was 
adopted.  Subsequently  the  concession  was  sold  to  the 
Canal  Company  for  ten  millions  of  francs,  or  two  millions 
of  dollars.  Perhaps  it  has  not  occurred  to  Lieut.  Lucien 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  Wyse  that  his  surveys,  which, 
according  to  the  late  Admiral  Bedford,  F.  C.  Pim,  R.N., 
failed  to  excite  universal  admiration,  were  in  themselves 
the  first,  of  many  steps  in  the  dark  made  by  the  Panama 
Canal  Company. 

There  is  another,  and  to  me  exceedingly  instructive 
fact  in  connection  with  the  founders'  shares  in  the  Canal 
Company.  It  is  generally  the  custom,  when  people  re- 
ceive benefactions  in  the  shape  of  founders'  shares — 
which  cost  them  nothing  but  the  effort  of  writing  a 
polite  note  and  thanking  the  company  for  them — if  they 


232  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

are  bonanzas,  to  hold  them.  They,  by  the  way,  wouldn't 
be  bad  things  to  leave  to  one's  children.  Shice  1884  the 
Panama  Canal  Company  have  known  the  canal  prac- 
tically was  impossible ;  but  with  a  feeling  of  brotherly 
love,  and  with  the  idea  of  benefitting  others  by  the  sale 
to  them  of  that  whicli  cost  the  venders  nothing,  they 
broke  their  founders'  shares  up  into  sections  and  placed 
them  upon  the  Pai'is  Bourse.  An  unsuspecting  public, 
to  use  a  homely  phrase,  caught  them  up  "like  hot 
cakes,"  and  thus  the  founders  of  this  "  great  and  disinter- 
ested work  of  civilization"  netted  some  millions  of 
dollars.  In  the  near  future  the  holders  of  fractions  of 
the  founders'  shares  will  have  the  peculiar  consolation  of 
knowing  that  they  hold  the  shares  and  likewise  the  ex- 
perience, and  the  founders  hold  their  cash.  Perhaps 
Lieut.  Lucien  Napoleon  Bonaparte  Wyse,  when  he 
writes  a  new  book  on  the  Panama  Canal,  will  be  good 
enough  to  exjilain  the  wherefore  of  this. 

In  speaking  of  Panama,  Whittaker  states  that  "the 
prosperity  of  the  State  depends  very  largely  upon  its 
favorable  geographical  position,  which  facilitates  transit 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  The  distance  from 
Limon  Bay  to  Panama  on  the  latter  is  only  thirty-five 
miles,  and  the  highest  elevation  of  the  water-shed  does 
not  exceed  278  feet.  A  railway  has  joined  the  two 
oceans  since  1855,  and  a  ship  canal  is  under  construction 
since  1881,  by  a  French  company  founded  by  F.  de 
Lesseps.  The  canal  will  have  a  total  length  of  forty- 
seven  miles,  an  average  depth  of  twenty-eight  feet,  a 
minimum  width  of  seventy-two  feet.  Huge  flood  gates 
are  required  to  regulate  the  tides,  for  while  Colon,  on  the 
Atlantic,  has  a  tide  of  only  two  feet ;  Panama,  on  the 
Pacific,  has  one  of  twenty  feet.  Up  to  the  middle  of 
1885,  eighteen  million  cubic  yards  of  earth  and  rock  had 
been  removed  out  of  an  estimated  total  of  one  hundred 
and.fifty-seven  millions.  M.  de  Lesseps,  who  inspected  the 
works  in  1886,  accompanied  by  M.  Rosseau,  a  govern- 
ment engineer,  confidently  announced  the  opening  of 
the  ship  canal  in  1892;  he  now  says  1890.  The  cost, 
in  1879,  was  estimated  at  £41,700,000;  and  M.  de  Lesseps 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  223 

asserts  that  the  actual  cost  will  not  exceed  £49,000,000. 
Twenty  thousand  men  ai'e  emi^loyed  upon  this  great 
work."  * 

In  the  above  there  are  two  eri-ors.  The  distance  from 
Limon  Bay  to  Panama  is  given  at  thirty-five  miles ;  it 
is  more  nearly  forty-five.  That  ' '  the  highest  elevation  of 
the  water-shed  does  not  exceed  278  feet,"  is  wrong.  The 
lowest  pass  found  in  the  hills  by  Colonel  Totten  was  238 
feet,  six  inches,  being  that  of  the  Panama  Railroad  at 
Culebra.  There  are  hills  in  that  vicinity  towering  hun- 
dreds of  feet  above  the  railroad.  The  crest  of  the  hill 
adjoining  the  railway,  on  the  left  as  you  go  to  Panama, 
and  just  beyond  the  canal  cut  at  Culebra,  is  some  500 
feet  above  sea  level. 

Another  authority  f  summarizes  all  the  news  down  to 
January,  1888,  when  M.  de  Lesseps  failed  to  obtain  per- 
mission for  his  lottery  loan.  Hazell  dwells  upon  the  oft 
reiterated  promises  of  M.  de  Lesseps  to  have  the  canal 
done  and  the  contradiction  of  his  forecasts  by  subsequent 
demands  for  more  money. 

"As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  am  firmly  convinced 
that  the  construction  of  the  canal  at  tide-level,  accord- 
ing to  the  plans  of  M.  de  Lesseps  for  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  is  chimerical,  if  not  absolutely  impossible. 
Under  any  circumstances,  if  the  canal  ever  becomes  a 
reality,  the  enterprise  itself  as  a  source  of  profit  will  be 
nil."  J 

In  the  fall  of  1885,  a  work  appeared,  giving  a  great 
deal  of  information  regarding  the  Panama  Canal.  § 

"Across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  occurs,  next  to 
Nicaragua,  the  greatest  depression  yet  found  on  the 
Isthmus,  the  summit  level  of  the  railroad  being  287  feet 
above  sea  level.  The  route  from  Porto  Bello  or  Chagres 
to  Old  or  New  Panama  has  been  the  established  line  of 


*  Wliittaker's  Almanac,  London,  1888. 
t  Hazell's  Encyclopaedia,  London. 

J  "  Aper^u  de  Quelques  Difficulte's  a  Vaincre  dans  la  Construction 
du  Canal  de  Panama ;  "  Paris,  1887. 
§  "  The  Panama  Canal ;  "  Rodrigues,  New  York, 


224  I'^IVE  VJiAES  AT  PANAMA. 

communication  since  1653,  nearly  coeval  with  the  first 
settlement  in  America.  A  survey  was  made  in  1843  by 
the  French  engineer  M.  Garella  ingenieur -en-chef  des 
mines,  of  which  an  account  is  given  in  the  document 
referred  to,  and  of  which  the  report  was  printed  in  the 
'  Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute ; '  also  in  the  French 
Journal  des  Fonts  et  Chaussees  (1844).  Mr.  G.  M.  Tot- 
ten,  chief  engineer  of  the  Panama  Railroad,  subse- 
quently made  an  estimate  for  a  canal  with  locks,  to  cost 
from  160,000,000  to  $115,000,000,  according  to  the  sum- 
mit level  adopted.  The  survey  was  renewed  by  the 
United  States  government,  by  Commander  E.  P.  Lull, 
U.  S.  N.,  resulting  in  the  location  of  a  practicable  line 
for  an  interoceanic  ship-canal,  twenty-six  feet  deep, 
from  the  Bay  of  Aspinwall  on  the  Carribean  Sea,  to  Pan- 
ama on  the  Pacific. 

' '  In  1879,  Count  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps  made  an  appeal 
to  the  several  nations  to  send  delegates  to  a  proposed 
congress  to  meet  in  Paris,  to  decide  upon  the  route  and 
the  plan  for  an  interoceanic  canal  between  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  Oceans  through  the  American  Isthmus.  On 
May  15th  of  that  year  the  congress  met  in  Paris.  The 
following  countries  were  i*epresented :  Germany,  Eng- 
land, Austria,  Hungary,  Belgium,  China,  Costa  Rica, 
Spain,  United  States,  United  States  of  Colombia,  Guate- 
mala, Hawaii,  Holland,  Italy,  Mexico,  Nicaragua, 
Portugal,  Norway,  Russia,  San  Salvador,  Sweden, 
Switzerland,  France  and  the  colonies  of  Algiers  and 
Martinique.  M.  de  Lesseps  was  elected  president.  The 
meetings  of  this  congress  continued  from  the  15th  to  the 
29th  of  May.  The  congress  was  divided  into  commis- 
sions to  investigate  the  several  objects  connected  with 
the  canal  question,  and  information  was  furnished  them 
by  the  several  countries  represented.  On  the  last  day 
of  the  meetings  the  following  resolution  was  adopted  by 
a  vote  of  seventy-eight  out  of  ninety -eight  delegates: 
'  Congress  believes  that  the  cutting  of  an  interoceanic 
canal,  with  a  constant  level,  so  desirable  for  the  interests 
of  commerce  and  navigation,  is  possible,  and  that  this 
maritime   canal,   to   meet  the   indispensable   facilities 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  225 

of  access  and  utility  which  a  passage  of  this  kind 
should  offer  before  all,  shall  be  by  way  of  Limon  Bay  to 
Panama.'  The  principal  reasons  for  this  decision  are  as 
follows,  as  given  by  Mr.  F.  M.  Kelley  in  the  Indicator 
(May  23,  1883) :  '  First,  with  the  exception  of  the  San 
Bias  route,  it  is  the  shortest,  being  but  forty-six  miles 
long  ;  second,  it  is  the  only  feasible  sea-level  route 
without  a  tunnel;  third,  it  has  harbors  at  both  ter- 
mini, requiring  but  little  or  no  improvements,  easily 
reached  on  a  wide,  open  sea ;  fourth,  it  has  the  Pan- 
ama Railroad  close  at  hand  to  deliver  laborers,  machin- 
ery, tools,  and  supplies  of  all  kinds  along  the  line  where 
needed,  at  the  lowest  possible  expense  and  in  the  quick- 
est possible  time ;  fifth,  towed  at  the  rate  of  five  miles 
per  hour,  ships  could  pass  through  the  Isthmus  at  Pana- 
ma in  ten  hours,  while  at  Nicaragua  it  would  take  about 
forty-five  hours;  sixth,  for  quickness  and  safety  in 
passing  the  largest  class  of  steam  and  sailing  vessels, 
and  the  very  much  less  cost  of  yearly  maintenance,  the 
Panama  canal  presents  decided  advantages  over  any 
long  canal  encumbered  with  numerous  locks  and  arti- 
ficial harbors,  so  liable  to  be  destroyed  by  the  floods  and 
earthquakes  of  that  country. 

"  Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  congress 
a  company  was  formed  for  building  the  canal — the 
Universal  Interoceanic  Canal  Company,  which  was 
organized  under  the  French  law  for  the  formation  of  cor- 
porations and  co-partnerships,  passed  in  July  24,  1867. 
According  to  this  law,  M.  de  Lessej^s  entered  articles  of 
incorporation  and  by-laws  before  notaries  public,  in 
Paris  on  the  20th  of  October  of  that  year,  which  are  now 
in  existence  and  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  company. 
These  articles  of  incorporation  are  also  in  accordance 
with  the  requirements  of  the  law  of  concession  of  May 
18, 1878,  granting  certain  privileges  for  the  opening  of 
an  interoceanic  canal  through  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
as  sanctioned  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  of 
Colombia.  This  concession  was  granted  to  Lieut. 
Lucien  N.  B.  Wyse,  as  the  representative  of  the  '  Inter- 
national Civil  Society  of  the  Interoceanic  Canal,'  who 
15 


22G  FIVE  \fEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

sold  their  rights  and  privileges  to  M.  de  Lesseps.  Up  to 
September,  1884,  four  subscriptions  had  been  put  upon 
the  market,  amounting  to  536,350,000  francs,  ($107,270,- 
000).  The  Canal  Company  bought  the  control  of  the 
Panama  Railroad  for  $17,000,000. 

"The  following  general  description  of  the  canal  is 
from  a  paper  read  befoi*e  the  Franklin  Institute,  Octo- 
ber 22,  1884,  by  Charles  Colne,  secretary  of  the  canal 
committee  in  New  York:  'The  canal  commences  at 
Colon  (Asp  in  wall),  running  up  to  Gatun  and  to  Dos 
Hermanos,  in  a  very  long  curve,  almost  a  straight 
line,  starting  at  the  sea-level  in  low  lands,  reaching  Dos 
Hermanos,  with  an  elevation  of  land  to  20  feet  in  the 
gradual  ascent,  at  a  distance  of  nine  and  two-thirds 
miles  from  Colon.  From  Dos  Hermanos  to  Frijole,  a 
distance  of  seventeen  and  one-third  miles  from  its 
mouth,  the  canal  reaches  the  latter  point  at  an  elevation 
of  40  feet,  with  the  exception  of  a  hill  between  Bohio 
Soldado  and  Buena  Vista,  reaching  a  height  of  165 
feet.  From  Frijole  to  Mamei,  a  distance  of  twenty-four 
miles  from  the  mouth,  the  line  makes  a  bend,  and 
reaches  Mamei,  with  an  average  elevation  of  50  feet, 
with  intervening  hills  reaching  to  heights  of  85,  100  and 
118  feet.  From  Mamei  to  Matachin,  twenty -seven  miles 
from  Colon,  the  canal  makes  another  easy  bend,  the 
height  of  the  land  averaging  55  feet,  excepting  a  hill 
near  Matachin  of  168  feet.  The  balance  of  the  Une  to 
Panama  is  comparatively  straight.  From  Matachin  to 
Culebra,  a  distance  of  thirty-four  miles,  the  land  be- 
comes more  undulating,  with  a  series  of  hills  reaching 
altitudes  from  100  to  240  feet,  and  at  Culebra  reaching 
the  highest  point  on  the  line,  330  feet.  From  this  alti- 
tude at  Culebra  the  descent  reaches  to  30  feet  at  Rio 
Grande,  a  distance  of  thirty-seven  miles  from  Colon. 
From  Rio  Grande  to  La  Boca  the  line  again  runs 
through  low  lands  from  30  feet  to  the  level  of  the  ocean, 
having  reached  the  distance  of  forty -two  miles  from 
Colon.  To  reach  the  proper  depth  of  water,  dredging 
will  be  continued  to  a  point  near  the  islands  of  Perico, 
being  a  distance  of  forty-six  miles  from  Colon.     The  two 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAM4.  327 

ports,  Colon  and  Panama,  are  to  be  improved,  so  as  to 
make  the  entrance  easy  of  access. 

"The  route  in  general  follows  that  of  the  Panama 
Eailroad.  The  dimensions  of  the  canal  are  as  follows: 
The  breadth  at  the  bottom  is  22  to  24  metres  (72  to  78 
feet) ;  the  breadth  at  the  surface  of  the  water,  28  to  50 
metres  (92  to  164  feet) ;  depth,  Si  to  9  metres  (28  to  29^ 
feet).  The  curves  on  the  canal  are  to  have  a  minimum 
radius  of  2,000  metres  (6,560  feet).  The  greatest  obstacle 
to  be  overcome  on  the  Atlantic  side,  both  in  construc- 
tion, maintenance  and  operation,  is  the  Chagres  River. 
It  is  a  torrent  of  great  and  dangerous  proportions  at 
times  during  the  rainy  season,  which  continues  during 
about  eight  months  of  the  year ;  the  maximum  discharge 
during  these  annual  freshets  is  nearly  sixty  thousand 
cubic  feet  per  second.  In  November,  1879,  during  an 
unusual  flow,  the  Panama  Railroad  was  covered  with 
water  nearly  eighteen  feet  deep  for  about  thirty  miles. 
As  the  canal  is  below  the  level  of  the  railroad,  the  effect 
of  this  river  on  it  when  in  flood  and  filled  with  sedi- 
mentary matters,  may  be  disastrous.  The  depression 
through  which  the  canal  is  to  be  built  being  situated 
betAveen  mountain  ranges  on  each  side,  with  steep 
declivities,  all  the  water  drains  rapidly  into  the  valley. 
The  rainfall  is  excessive,  being  sometimes  six  inches  in 
depth  in  twenty-four  hours  for  days  in  succession.  The 
river  consequently  rises  rapidly,  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  valley  is  submerged.  The  only  method  by  which 
the  water  flowing  in  the  Chagres  River  Valley  and  the 
valleys  of  tributary  streams  can  be  diverted  from  the 
canal-prism,  is  to  intercept  it  at  some  distance  from 
the  canal  and  drain  it  by  lateral  canals  to  the  sea.  In 
severe  floods  the  surface-water  of  these  lateral  canals  will 
be  about  seventy  feet  above  that  of  the  canal  proper, 
requiring  heavy  guard-banks  to  restrain  the  anticipated 
floods.  In  other  words,  '  the  water  wiU  have  to  be  hung 
up  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains.'  With  the  pressure 
that  will  be  brought  against  the  banks  of  these  lateral 
canals  during  the  heavy  freshets,  there  will  also  be  great 
risk  of  the  water  breaking  through  and  so  completely 


228  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

filling  the  canal  by  sediment  as  to  stop  navigation  until 
it  is  removed.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  Canal  Company 
to  hold  back  and  deflect  the  waters  of  the  Chagres  River 
at  Gamboa  by  a  dam  constructed  between  two  hills, 
thus  forming  an  artificial  reservoir.  The  height  of  the 
dam  will  be  about  150  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  river. 
The  water  thus  impounded  will  be  conducted  by  lateral 
channels  to  the  sea  through  deep  excavations.  One  of 
these  channels  will  be  about  thirteen  miles  in  length, 
and  its  dimensions  will  be  nearly  the  size  of  the  main 
canal.  The  estimated  cost  of  the  dam,  as  given  by  M. 
de  Lesseps,  is  $19,000,000.  The  greatest  constructive 
obstacle  in  the  shape  of  excavation  is  the  Culebra,  or 
summit  cut,  which,  on  the  axis  of  the  canal,  for  about 
half  a  mile,  has  an  average  cutting  of  100  metres  (330 
feet),  or  360  feet  from  the  bottom  of  the  canal.  The 
width  of  this  cut  (being  on  a  side-hill)  at  the  surface  of 
the  ground  is  about  300  metres  (984  feet),  and  the  depth 
for  a  few  hundred  feet  on  the  highest  point  in  this  cross- 
section  is  about  164  metres  (538  feet)  from  the  bed  of  the 
canal. 

' '  The  canal,  being  built  a  niveau,  requires  a  tide-lock 
at  Panama,  where  the  ordinary  range  of  tides  is  eighteen 
feet.  During  storm-tides  the  range  is  much  greater. 
The  materials  in  general  to  be  excavated  are,  on  the 
marshes  and  valley  of  the  Chagres  River,  a  very  fine 
alluvium  in  which  is  but  little  mineral  silt ;  elsewhere, 
solid  rock,  clay  mixed  with  conglomerate,  with  tufa  (or 
compressed  volcanic  ashes)  in  the  Cerro  Culebra.  From 
Culebra  to  Panama  the  route  is  through  pyroxenic  rock, 
sandstone  tufa,  and  conglomerate.  The  total  amount  of 
materials  to  be  excavated  in  the  canal  proper,  according 
to  the  originally  steep  sections,  is  143,000,000  yards,  and, 
with  the  lateral  cuts  for  the  Chagres  River,  not  includ- 
ing those  required  for  the  Chagres  dam  at  Gamboa,  is 
13,000,000  cubic  yards,  or  a  total  of  156,000,000  cubic 
yards.  The  amount  remaining  to  be  excavated,  accord- 
ing to  the  reports  of  Lieutenants  Winslow  and  McLean, 
U.  S.  N.,  February,  1885,  is  about  180,000,000  cubic  yards; 
the  time,  twenty-six  years  at  rate  of  progress  of  the  last 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  229 

year;  and  the  total  cost,  including  interest,  $350,000,000. 
The  work  has  now  (July,  1885)  continued  about  four  and 
one-half  years ;  the  results  thus  far  obtained  have  been 
the  removal  of  about  17,000,000  cubic  yards,  mostly 
material  dredged  from  the  marshes  at  Colon  and  the 
removal  of  the  surface  soil  at  various  points  on  the  line 
of  the  work.  It  is  probable  that  with  the  large  amount 
of  plant  now  at  work  in  the  shape  of  dredges,  steam- 
shovels,  locomotives,  cars,  etc.,  5,000,000  or  6,000,000 
cubic  yards  per  annum  may  be  removed.  At  this  rate 
of  progress  many  years  will  elapse  before  the  completion 
of  the  work.  The  money  for  building  the  canal  is  fur- 
nished almost  wholly  by  the  French  people,  who  have 
entire  confidence  in  Count  de  Lesseps.  The  obstacles  of 
almost  every  kind,  both  constructive  and  poljjicaltjgibich 
he"  so  successfully  overcame  in  constructing  the  Suez 
Canal  nave  given  him  a  high  reputation. 
~^'  In  the  maintenance  and  operationTof  the  canal  there 
are  certain  fixed  conditions  which  will  entail  a  great 
expense,  and  perhaps  at  times  serious  delays  to  com- 
merce: First,  the  tide-gate  at  Panama;  second,  the 
effects  of  the  great  rainfall  of  about  120  inches  per 
annum  on  the  Atlantic  side,  which  will  be  a  constant 
menace  to  the  canal,  and  no  doubt  at  times  a  serious 
obstacle  to  its  operation;  the  effects  of  these  excessive 
rains  upon  the  clayey  slopes  of  the  canal  can  hardly  be 
estimated ;  third,  the  perpetual  calms  that  prevail  for  a 
long  distance  on  both  sides  of  this  Isthmus  at  this  point 
will  prevent  the  use  of  the  canal  by  sailing  vessels,  in 
which  now  most  of  the  commerce  between  the  Pacific 
coasts  and  Europe  passes  around  Cape  Horn. 

"The  estimated  commerce  for  the  canal  transit  in  1889 
is  6,000,000  tons.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  work  would  revolutionize  the  world's  com- 
merce and  increase  the  prosperity  of  many  nations. 

"The  following  authorities  have  been  consulted,  and 
are  now  stated  for  reference:  Congves  International 
d'Etudes  du  Canal  Interoceanique  (1879) ;  report  of 
Lieut.  R.  M.  G.  Brown,  U.  S.  N.  (1884) ;  report  of  Lieut. 
R  P.  Rodgers,  U.  S.  N.,  February  28,  1883;   'Maritime 


fJlNif 


230  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

Canal  of  Suez  '  (pp.  130-153),  by  Prof.  J.  E.  Nourse, 
U.  S.  N. ;  paper  by  Charles  Colne,  read  before  Franklin 
Institute,  October  22, 1884,  on  '  The  Panama  Interoceanic 
Canal ; '  '  Problem  of  Interoceanic  Communication  by 
Way  of  the  American  Isthmus,'  by  Lieut.  John  T. 
Sullivan  (1883;  issued  by  Bureau  of  Navigation,  Navy 
Department) ;  reports  of  Lieut.  Francis  Winslow  and 
Lieut.  R.  H.  McLean,  U.  S.  N.,  February,  1885;  also 
report  of  Lieuts.  M.  Fisher  Wright  and  Alfred  Rey- 
nolds, U.  S.  N.,  February  5,  1885."* 

The  present  status  of  the  Panama  Canal  may  be  de- 
fined by  stating  that  after  seven  years  work  and  an  ex- 
penditure estimate  of  over  $220,000,000,  M.  de  Lesseps 
1,,^/H  ^,     has  abandoned  his   pet  tide-level  scheme,   and  at  the 
^  !^4^    eleventh  hour  adopted  locks.    About    one-fifth  of  the 
/'^      work "  originalfy  jjlanned    has   been    done.    The    fixed 
'//.'charges  of  the  company  to-day  on  their  shares  and  bonds 
and  the  maintenance  of  the  Parisian  and  Isthmian  offi- 
ces, exceed  $22,000,000  per  annum.     This  does  not  include 
the  turning  over  of  a  single  shovelful  of  earth. 

A  word  regarding  the  Eiffel  contract,  regarding  which 
one  hears  so  much.  It  is  probably  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable documents  that  ever  was  drawn  up  between  a 
contractor  and  a  corporation.  All  of  the  provisions  are 
absolutely  in  favor  of  the  contractor.  He  exacted  a 
huge  deposit;  for  as  much  as  one  million  of  dollars,  or 
five  millions  of  francs,  were  placed  to  his  credit  in  the 
hands  of  two  banking  firms  in  Paris,  before  he  com- 
menced any  work  at  all.  Then  his  staff,  that  was  sent 
to  Panama,  was  paid  six  months  in  advance  by  the 
Canal  Company.  One  of  the  engineers  on  that  very 
work  told  me,  while  in  Panama  in  March,  1888,  that  the 
contracts  called  for  ten  gates,  at  one  million  of  dollars 
each,  while  the  masonry  and  wherewithal  to  constitute  a 
lock,  Avas  to  be  a  separate  charge.  Thus  we  have  ten 
millions  for  ten  gates,  and,  say  five  millions  for  masonry 
—total,  fifteen  millions.     The  fact  never  to  be  lost  sight 


*  Jolinsoii's  Universal  Cyclopaedia,  Vol.  VII.  1887. 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  231 

of  is  this,  that  M.  de  Lesseps  has  stated  that  they  are  to 
be  temporary  locks.     These  are  his  own  words. 

With  his  usual  nonchalance,  in  comparison  with 
which  an  Ai'ctic  temperature  is  midsummer,  he  has 
assured  his  countrymen  and  countrywomen  (for  there 
are  upwards  of  thirty  thousand  female  shareholders  in 
tHecanal),  that  while  the  locks  are  working  he  will  go  on 
d^gmg^own  to  tide-level  along-side  of  his  lock-canal. 
This  probably  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  statements 
that  has  ever  emanated  from  human  lips — and  for  a 
variety  of  reasons.  Picture  to  yourself  a  lock-level 
canal  built  through  the  ever  yielding  clayey  soils  of  the 
Culebra.  Let  us  say  that  that  is  done.  There  is  no 
water  on  that  level  with  which  to  aliment  or  feed  a 
canal.  Pockets  are  to  be  constructed  on  the  side  of  that 
hill  as  mountain  reservoirs.  By  strengthening  their 
walls  with  a  backing  of  iron  plates  they  hope  to  make 
them  strong  enough  and  large  enough  to  hold  M.  de  Les- 
seps' promises — I  really  beg  his  pardon — I  mean  water, 
to  aliment  the  upper  levels  of  the  Panama  Canal.  This 
water  has  to  be  pumped  from  distant  streams.  Let  us 
say  the  pumping  apparatus  gets  out  of  order;  then  we 
have  no  water  and  the  canal  will  be  useless  on  that  occa- 
sion. On  the  other  hand,  let  us  say  that  the  reservoirs 
are  full,  and  that  there  is  one  of  those  sociable  little 
earthquakes,  such  as  have  been  alluded  to,  and  the  walls 
of  the  reservoir  give  way,  break  into  the  main  ditch, 
and  sweep  away  the  locks. 

Again,  let  us  say,  that  everything  goes  on  just  as  they 
have  stated — smoothly  and  the  like.  Then,  according 
to  M.  de  Lesseps,  in  that  narrow  mountain  gorge  in  the 
Culebra  he  is  going  down  to  tide-level.  In  view  of  the 
fact^that  the_^des^f  the  Culebra  move  mtO  the  cuTat 
THejate  of  sQme  eighteen  inches  per  annum — and  that  on 
a  cut  of  less  than  eight  feet — what  can  one  expect  will 
happen  to  his  lock-canal  after  he  has  got  below  its  level  ? 

In  short,  the  building  of  a  tide-level  canal  alongside  of 
the  lock-canal  is  a  physical  impossibility,  and  there  are 
no  modern  underwriters  that  would  put  a  dime  of  insur- 
ance on  vessels  going  through  a  canal  at  that  time. 


232  FIVi:  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

There  is  another  feature  in  connection  with  these  locks 
that  should  afford  M.  de  Lesseps  considerable  food  for 
thought,  and  it  is  this.  The  plans  on  which  his  locks 
are  being  built  to-day  are  those  designed  by  M.  Eiffel 
for  a  former  Nicaragua  Canal  Company.  In  view  of  his 
bitter  denunciations  of  the  latter  route — as  to  it  being  a 
land  of  earthquakes,  making  lock-canals  useless— his 
present  conversion  is  as  amusing  as  it  is  instructive. 

As  we  are  all  aware,  M.  Eiffel  is  building  a  thousand 
foot  tower,  to  be  completed  for  the  opening  of  the  Paris 
Exposition  of  1889.  As  M.  de  Lesseps  boasts  that  he  has 
behind  him  half  a  million  of  share  and  bond  holders, 
perhaps  they  will  ascend  that  tower  and  stretch  their 
eyes  towards  the  west  to  look  for  the  Panama  Canal, 
in  the  same  way  that  the  Spanish  king  gazed  from  a 
window,  and  said  that  he  thought  Panama  could  be  seen, 
owing  to  the  cost  of  its  walls. 

The  engineer  in  the  Eiffel  employ,  from  whom  I  ob- 
tained many  of  the  details  just  used,  told  me  there 
never  wilT  be  a  canal  on  the  Isthmus,  with  or  without 
locks.  When  the  present  money  is  exhausted  a  crash  is 
inevitable. 

In  fact,  I  made  bold  to  make  a  forecast  while  at  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science, 
at  its  meeting  in  Cleveland,  on  the  15th  of  August,  1888, 
when,  in  my  paper  before  the  section  on  engineering,  I 
stated  that  within  six  months  the  company  would  be  in 
hopeless  bankruptcy  and  that  M.  de  Lesseps'  famous 
petite  gens  de  has  de  liane  would  be  hopelessly  ruined. 

The  bursting  of  this  South  Sea  Bubble  No.  2  will  shake 
France  to  its  centre.  Add  to  this  the  commercial  stag- 
nation in  Europe  and  the  ever  increasing  darkness  in 
the  political  horizon,  and  you  have  a  group  of  facts 
sufficient  to  appal  all  having  any  interest  in  the  Pan- 
ama Canal.  La  Belle  France  is  laden  down  by  a  huge 
debt ;  already  three  times  that  of  the  United  States  of 
America.  This  is  constantly  increasing,  and  the  burst- 
ing of  the  canal  bubble  will  hasten  ji  financial  crisis  in 
France  that  unquestionably  will  affect  all  having  com- 
mercial relations  with  her. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  233 

Despite  the  rose-colored  statements  to  the  contrary, 
very  httle  real  work  is  being  done  on  the  Panama  Canal 
at  this  writing.  Work  has  been  stopped  on  a  number 
of  sections,  the  nominal  excuse  being  that  they  are  com- 
pleted. But  such  is  not  the  case.  Work  has  been  stopped 
because  the  company  is  without  means  to  pay  the 
contractors.  At  this  time  lawsuits  aggregating  several 
millions,  for  damages  and  for  breach  of  contract,  are 
hanging  over  the  Panama  Canal  Company.  A  lot  of  its 
plant  on  the  Isthmus  was  advertised  for  a  judicial  sale, 
and  among  other  things  that  were  enumerated  in  the 
list,  were  the  Canal  Company's  hotel,  and  their  works 
and  plant  at  the  Boca.  That  was  for  a  judgment  of  $400, 
000.  That  case,  I  believe,  has  been  settled,  and  a 
number  of  contractors  who  have  been  dispossessed,  and 
whose  contracts  had  been  given  to  others  for  advanced 
rates,  have  sued  the  company.  One  of  these  contractors, 
M.  Murraciole,  a  Frenchman,  recovered  one  million  of 
francs  damages.  The  system  of  dispossessing  men  who 
are  doing  their  best,  and  giving  their  work  to  others  at 
advanced  rates,  is  one  of  those  things  that  no  felloAv  can 
understand  on  business  principles.  The  sums,  paid  by 
the  Panama  Canal  Company  for  the  indemnification  of 
those  so  dispossessed,  or  men  whose  contracts  were  can- 
celled, together  with  the  suits  in  court  and  judgments 
against  the  company,  have  aggregated  over  twenty 
millions  of  francs,  and  that,  irrespective  of  the  costs. 

The  seven  great  contracting  firms  on  the  canal  are  the 
following:  ^Uy-^'-i    4 

First,  The  American  Contracting^! d  'HrpHging  Conl- 
pany,  who*TiaTtJ  frourkiiometre  one  to  kilometre  twenty- 
six.  The  huge  dredges  of  this  company  have  cut  inland 
some  fourteen  miles.  During  my  visit  to  the  Isthmus 
in  April,  I  went  over  the  derivations  and  the  cut  made 
by  this  company.  In  many  places  the  channel  was 
from  twenty-two  to  twenty-six  feet  deep,  with  an 
average  breadth  of,  say,  one  hundred  feet.  In  the  upper 
portions  of  the  cut  the  depth  is  six  to  eight  feet,  and  in 
making  it  they  have  given  the  Chagres  a  new  channel. 
That  stream,  instead  of  emptying  into  the  Atlantic  at  the 


234  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

village  of  Chagres,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  now  flows 
in  part  through  the  canal  into  the  Bay  of  Colon.  The 
consequence  is  that  during  the  rains  an  immense  amount 
of  earth  is  brought  down,  and  it  is  feared  that  in  time  a 
bar  will  be  produced  in  the  harbor  of  Colon,  or  Navy 
Bay,  in  the  same  way  that  bars  mark  the  mouths  of  all 
tropical  rivers. 

The  second  contracting  company,  taking  them  in  their 
order  from  Colon  to  Panama,  is  L' Enterprise  Jacob, 
working  in  the  axis  of  the  canal  at  Mindi  and  on  the 
"derivations"  of  the  river  Chagres. 

The  third  contracting  company  is  Vignaux  Barbaud 
Blanleuil  &  Co.,  who  have  the  contract  from  kilo- 
metre twenty-six  to  kilometre  forty-four. 

The  fourth  contracting  company  is  the  Societe  Tra- 
vaux  de  Paris,  who  hold  the  contract  from  kilometre 
forty-four  to  kilometre  fifty-five. 

The  next  contracting  company  is  that  of  Artigue, 
Sonderegger  &  Co.,  whose  contract  extends  from  kilo-' 


mefrenfty-five  to  kilometre  sixty-two.  This  is  the 
famous  ^uiebiia-aeclian.   jy^H^^-  l/atu/A  'r    6^. 

The  sixth  contracting  company  is  that  of  Baratoux, 
Letellier  &  Co.  Their  contract  covers  the  canal  from 
kilometre  sixty-two  to  kilometre  seventy -six,  or  off  Isla 
de  Naos. 

The  seventh  and  last  contract  is  that  called  V Enter- 
prise Eiffel,  which  has  contracted  for  the  gates— if  such  a 
document  as  it  holds  can  be  called  a  contract. 

Some  eighteen  months  ago  M.  de  Lesseps  announced 
to  the  world  that  five  great  contracting  firms  had 
pledged  themselves  to  deliver  the  canal  cut  to  tide-level, 
but  that  promise  of  course  is  of  no  moment,  now  that 
they  have  decided  on  having  temporary  locks.  I  have 
information  from  a  source  that  I  know  to  be  reliable, 
that  the  great  contracting  firms  mentioned,  had  placed  to 
their  credit  before  commencing  any  work,  the  handsome 
sum  of  $1,000,000  each,  which  they  were  allowed  to 
expend  for  the  purchase  of  the  plant  deemed  necessary, 
and  when  the  said  sum  was  expended  it  was  considered 
as  so  much  work  done,  and  they  were  at  liberty  to  make 


FIVE  YE  Alts  AT  PANAMA.  235 

an  additional  charge  of  fifteen  per  cent,  thereon  as 
profit. 

The  famous  Bureau  System  is  what  has  obtained  on 
the  Isthmus  up  to  this  present  time,  with  changes  and 
amphfications  without  number.  There  is  enoughbureau- 
cratic  work,  and  there  _a.re  enough  officers  ^Llhg 
Isthmus  to  furnish  at  least  one  dozen  first-class  republics 
with  offi£ia>  f^^  «n  tbpir  jjpjTgTMvmpnts  ThS'^xpen- 
diture  has  been  something  simply  colossal.  One  Director 
General  lived  in  a  mansion  that  cost  over  $100,000;  his 
pay  was  $50,000  a  year,  and  every  time  he  went  out  on 
the  line  he  had  his  deplacement,  wliich  gave  him  the 
Hberal  sum  of  fifty  dollars  a  day  additional.  He 
travelled  in  a  handsome  Pullman  car,  specially  con- 
structed, which  was  reported  to  have  cost  some  $42,000. 
Later,  wishing  a  summer  residence,  a  most  expensive 
building  was  put  up  near  La  Boca.  The  preparation  of 
the  grounds,  the  building,  and  the  roads  thereto,  cost 
upwards  of  $150,000. 

The  way  money  has  been  thrown  away  is  simply 
astonishing.  One  canal  chief  had  had  built  a  famous 
pigeon-house  while  I  was  on  the  Isthmus  recently. 
It  cost  the  company  $1,500.  Another  man  had  built  a 
large  bath-house  on  the  most  approved  principles.  This 
cost  $40,000.  Thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  have 
been  frittered  away  in  ornamental  grounds,  for aU  had  to 
be  beau,  utility  being  a  second  consideration. 

M.  Rousseau  was  sent  to  the  Isthmus  in  1886  by  his 
government  to  report  upon  the  Panama  Canal.  His 
inspection  was  to  be  preliminary  to  the  emission  of  a 
lottery  loan  providing  his  report  was  favorable.  M. 
Rousseau  was  a  keen,  practical  man.  While  it  was 
quite  true  that  theatrical  effects  were  introduced,  he  was 
not  deceived. 

During  my  last  visit  to  the  Isthmus  I  went  over  the 
work,  note-book  in  hand,  and  made  sixty  photographs. 
I  can  summarize  all  by  stating  that  the  effect  was  more 
than  depressing.  The  Canal  Company  take  credit  for 
thirty  million  dollars  worth  of  machinery  on  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama.     The  greater  part  of  this  machinery  has 


236  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

been  left  out  in  the  open,  and  a  iJrominent  engineer  told 
nie  that  two-thirds  of  it  is  absolutely  useless;  and  it 
wouldn't  pay  to  take  it  away  for  old  metal.  Five  mil- 
lions of  dollars  have  been  spent  in  creating  a  very  pretty, 
well  kept  tropical  town  at  Christophe  Colon.  Sidings 
are  covered  with  valuable  engines  and  all  kinds  of 
movable  plant  which  are  out  in  all  weather  and  going 
to  ruin. 

The  canal  hospitals  on  the  Panama  side  are  without 
doubt  the  finest  and  most  perfect  system  of  hospitals 
ever  made  within  the  tropi-cs.  There  are  upwards  of 
seventy  buildings,  and  their  cost  has  been  over  four 
millions  of  dollars.  That  service  alone  is  simply 
huge. 

The  following  figures  are  taken  from  a  report  of  Mr. 
Armero,  a  Columbian  oflficer,  which  was  made  up  the 
30th  of  June,  1886.     His  official  figures  are : 

Excavations  of  14,000,000  cubic  metres,  $28,000,000; 
material  purchased,  $22,000,000;  combustibles,  $3,800,000; 
explosive  material,  $1,300,000;  purchase  of  Panama  Rail- 
road, $18,685,088;  encampments  on  the  line,  $9,000,000; 
Central  Hospital  at  Panama,  $5,600,000.  Hospital  at 
Colon,  and  ambulances,  $1,400,000.  Stables,  $600,000; 
carriages  and  horses,  for  employees,  $215,000;  servants 
for  employees,  $2,700,000;  mules  and  wagons,  $152,000, 
buildings  for  offices,  private  residence  for  the  manager, 
country  seat  for  the  same— grounds,  etc.,  $5,250,000; 
parlor  car  for  the  same,  $42,000;  sanitarium  at  Toboga, 
$465,000;  indemnity  to  commissioners  (sent  at  the  Canal 
Company's  expense  to  report  on  the  canal),  $2,000,000; 
indemnity  to  contractors  (for  company's  failure  to  carry 
out  certain  contracts),  $2,300,000;  wages  of  employees  on 
the  line,  $5,000,000;  offices  at  New  York,  Paris  and 
Panama,  $8,400,000;  police  on  the  encampments,  $2,300,- 
000;  pharmaceutical  staff,  $4,800,000;  interest  at  five 
per  cent  on  capital,  $30,000,000— Total,  $154,509,088. 

The  above  figures  are  instructive,  and  as  they  emanate 
from  a  Colombian  officer  then  on  the  Isthmus,  who  was 
watching  the  matter  for  his  government,  they  tell  their 
own  tale. 


FIVE  YEAIIS  AT  PANAMA.  237 

Mr.  Armero's  I'eport  was  a  fearfully  wet  blanket  to 
the  company. 

Now,  I  think  it  time  to  turn  to  some  of  M.  de  Lesseps' 
oflScial  literature  and  compare  his  promises  one  by  one, 
as  they  have  appeared  in  print,  and  then  allow  my 
readers  to  draw  their  own  conclusions. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  PANAMA  CANAL — ITS  PBESENT  CONDITION  AND  ITS  FUTURE 
— THE  ENTERPRISE  JUDGED  FROM  M.  DE  LESSEPS'  OFFI- 
CIAL STATEMENTS. 

The  problem  of  interoceanic  communication  by  way  of 
the  American  Isthmuses  is  a  very  old  one.  I  refer  to 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  and  the 
Nicaragua  route.  The  plans  and  schemes  by  which  two 
vast  oceans  were  to  be  married,  to  borrow  one  of  M.  de 
Lesseps'  similes,  are  too  numerous  to  be  detailed  here. 
The  idea  of  connecting  the  oceans  is  almost  coincident 
with  the  discovery  of  the  Pacific  by  Vasco  Nufiez  de 
Balboa,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  following: 

' '  In  the  town  library  at  Nuremberg,  is  preserved  a 
globe,  made  by  John  Schoner,  in  1520.  It  is  remarkable 
that  the  passage  through  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  so  much 
sought  after  in  later  times,  is,  on  this  old  globe,  carefully 
delineated."  * 

Among  the  Spaniards,  Gomera,  a  historian,  was  the 
first  to  advocate  the  union  of  the  oceans  by  means  of  a 
canal.  Three  hundred  and  thirty-seven  years  ago  all  of 
the  schemes  that  have  received  consideration  recently, 
were  on  the  tapis.  There  was  the  old  Panama  scheme, 
the  Nicaragua  scheme,  and  the  Tehuantepec  scheme. 
These  were  submitted  to  Philip  II.  and  his  court. 
Gomera  was  one  of  those  clear  thinking,  enthusiastic 
men  to  whom  obstacles  were  but  new  stimulants  to 
victory.  When  he  was  confronted  with  the  difficulties 
to  be  overcome  in  the  canalization  of  the  Isthmus  he 
said,  addressing  his  king,  "  '  It  is  quite  true  that  the 
mountains  obstruct  these  passes,  but  if  there  are  moun- 

*  King's  "  Wonders  of  the  World." 

338 


FIVE  YEARS  A  T  PANAMA.  239 

tains  there  are  also  hands.  Let  but  the  resolve  be  made 
and  there  will  be  no  want  of  means ;  the  Indies  to  which 
the  passage  will  be  made  will  supply  them.  To  a  King 
of  Spain  with  the  wealth  of  the  Indies  at  his  command, 
when  the  object  to  be  attained  is  the  spice  trade,  what  is 
possible  is  easy.' 

"  But  the  sacred  fire  had  burned  itself  out.  The  penin- 
sula had  a  ruler  who  sought  his  glory  in  smothering  free 
thought  among  his  people,  and  in  wasting  his  immense 
resources  in  vain  efforts  to  repress  it  also  outside  of  his 
own  dominions  throughout  all  Europe.  From  that  hour 
Spain  was  benumbed  and  estranged  from  all  the  ad- 
vances of  science  and  art,  by  means  of  which  other 
nations,  and  especially  England,  developed  their  true 
greatness."'  * 

What  that  historian  sought  and  recommended  to  the 
King  of  Spain,  was  the  spice  trade  of  the  Indies.  In  a 
paper  read  before  the  Natural  History  Society  of  Santa 
Barbara,  California,  on  the  8th  day  of  June,  1885,  I  used 
the  following  words  : — 

' '  This  was  the  starting  point  of  the  canal  question,  a 
question  thought  of  then  as  a  means  of  developing  the 
spice  trade  with  the  Indies ;  a  question  that  to-day,  and 
in  the  near  future  promises  to  be  spicy  enough  for  the 
Governments  of  France,  United  States  of  Colombia,  and 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  interesting  to  all 
students  of  international  law." 

No  fact  is  better  known  to  students  of  the  literature 
bearing  on  this  subject  than  that  the  early  surveys  were 
excellent,  and  in  the  early  part  of  this  century  Admiral 
Fitzroy,  of  the  British  navy,  said  that  -no  surveys  need 
be  better.  The  people  who  have  been  prominent  in  the 
1'  past  in  connection  with  the  work,  have  been  the  Dutch, 
Swedes,  English,  Scotch,  and,  in  modern  times,  the 
FrencTi  and  Americans. 

"This  exclusive  policy  of  Spain  was  manifested  as 
late  as  1775,  when,  on  the  presentation  of  a  memoir  by 

*  "Problem  of  Interoceauic  Commuuicatiou; "  Sullivan.  Wash- 
ington. 


240  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANA3IA. 

the  citizens  of  Oaxaca  for  improving  the  Tehuantepec 
route,  the  memorialists  were  censured  as  intermeddlers, 
and  the  Viceroy  fell  under  his  sovereign's  displeasure." 

Kingly  indifference  and  an  iron  hand  crushed  all 
projects,  and  plans  were  in  abeyance  until  1808,  when 
Humboldt  again  drew  the  attention  of  the  world  to  the 
subject.  Later,  in  1823,  the  then  Kingdom  of  Guatemala, 
whose  southern  boundary  made  a  part  of  the  present 
State  of  Panama,  threw  off  the  Spanish  yoke,  and  the 
new  Republic  of  the  centre  of  America  stirred  in  the 
matter.  Surveys  were  made  in  1824-26, 1828-30,  1835-38, 
1846-47,  and  on  to  our  own  time. 

The  literature  on  Isthmian  surveys  is  most  volumi- 
nous. Passing  from  times  past  to  things  of  to-day,  I 
have  to  state  that  the  first  surveys  for  the  present 
Panama  route  were  made  under  Lieut.  Lucien  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  Wyse.  As  it  was  quaintly  observed  by  the 
late  Admiral  Pim,  they  did  not  command  universal 
respect.  By  referring  to  Lieutenant  Sullivan's  admir- 
able compilation,*  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  that  sur- 
vey may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows.  It  commenced  on 
the  Panama  or  Pacific  side  but  did  not  extend  to  the 
Atlantic,  nor  anywhere  near  it.  Still,  incredible  as  it 
may  seem,  Lieut.  Lucien  Napoleon  Bonaparte  Wyse 
gave  a  minute  plan  for  the  construction  of  a  canal,  even 
to  its  cost  within  ten  per  cent.  There  was  much  that 
was  remarkable  about  that  survey.  Lieut.  Lucien  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte  Wyse  was  acting  for  a  society  calling 
itself  the  Societe  Internationale  du  Canal  Interocean- 
ique.  Lieutenant  Sullivan's  compilation  says  that, 
"  Lieutenant  Wyse  was  not  instructed  to  seek  the  best 
line,  but  the  best  line  in  a  certain  territory,  where  the 
society  could  secure  a  concession  and  profit  by  its  sale. " 
In  1878  he  was  again  authorized  by  this  society,  to  return 
and  complete  his  surveys.  What  a  commentary  on  the 
word    "complete,"   particularly,  as  he  had  previously 


*  "  The  Problem  of  Interoceanic  Communication  by  Way  of  the 
American  Isthmus."  By  Lieut.  John  Sullivan,  U.  S.  N.  Issued  by 
the  Hydrographic  Department,  Washington. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  241 

completed  his  canal  on  paper  even  to  calculating  its 
cost!  He  returned  to  the  Isthmus  and  did  a  lot  of 
helter-skelter  work  and  obtained  a  concession  in  Bogota 
which  embraced  the  whole  country  of  the  United  States 
of  Colombia,  thus  including  all  the  proposed  canal  routes 
except  that  of  Nicaragua.  As  the  result  of  the  above 
explorations,  and  those  made  in  1876-7,  the  following 
plans  for  a  canal  were  devised.  The  dimensions  proper 
were,  breadth  at  bottom  twenty  metres,  (a  metre  is 
39.333  inches),  at  three  metres  from  the  bottom,  twenty- 
six  metres;  at  the  surface  from  thirty-two  to  fifty 
metres,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  soil.  Depth 
eight  and  a  half  metres  at  mean  low  tide.  Tunnel, 
breadth  at  bottom,  twenty-four  metres;  at  surface, 
twenty-four  metres;  height  above  level  water,  thirty- 
four  metres.  It  was  with  these  dimensions  that  the 
estimated  prices  were  calculated;  twenty-five  per  cent 
being  added  to  the  price  so  obtained. 

The  surveys  made  there  by  both  English  and  Ameri- 
can engineers  advocated  a  tunnel,  and  one  of  the  most 
thorough  of  these  surveys  was  that  made  by  the  late 
Commander  J.  E.  Lull,  U.  S.  N. 

We  have  now  brought  this  brief  summary  up  to  the 
spring  of  1879.  On  the  15th  day  of  May  the  now  cele- 
brated International  Conference  was  held  at  Paris  to 
select  a  route.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  Societe 
Internationale  du  Canal  Interoceanique  had  not  been 
idle.  It  held  the  concession.  General  Tiirr  and  his 
brother-in-law,  Lieut.  Lucien  Napoleon  Bonaparte  Wyse, 
were  the  exponents  of  each  and  all  the  extraordi- 
nary advantages  possessed  by  the  Wyse  route.  It  was 
at  that  conference  that  M.  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps  ap- 
peared on  the  scene,  and  subsequently  it  transpired  that 
he  had  sent  Lieut.  Lucien  Napoleon  Bonaparte  Wyse 
and  his  party  on  their  second  expedition.  We  read 
that  the  meeting  was  opened  with  great  formality. 
A  president,  five  vice-presidents,  a  general  secretary  and 
four  other  secretaries  were  named.  Five  committees 
were  appointed  and  subdivided.  The  president  vacated 
the  chair,  but  it  was  taken  by  the  "  great  undertaker  " 
lo 


242  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

of  the  French,  M.  de  Lesseps.  Captain  Bedford  F.  C. 
Pirn,  R.  N.  (later  Admiral),  and  Lieutenant  Sullivan,  U. 
S.  N.,  state  that  the  conference  was  composed  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-six  members,  of  whom  seventy-four 
were  French  and  sixty-two  of  different  nationalities. 
Forty -two  were  engineers.  Of  the  forty-two  engineers, 
thirteen  had  been  on  the  Suez  canal.  The  remaining 
ninety-four  members,  were  bankers,  politicians,  specula- 
tors, members  of  the  geographical  societies,  and  army 
and  navy  officers. 

American  interests  were  represented  by  Admiral 
Daniel  Ammen,  a  civil  engineer,  and  Mr.  A.  G.  Menocal, 
of  the  United  States  navy,  gentlemen  who  are  pro- 
foundly versed  in  all  knowledge  referring  to  both  routes ; 
Mr.  Menocal  having  been  on  the  long  survey  of  1875  at 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  Admiral  Ammen  having 
had  intimate  knowledge  of  both  routes. 

English  interests  were  represented  by  Sir  John  Hawk- 
shaw.  Captain  Pirn,  R.  N. ,  had  been  named  a  delegate. 
He  had  conducted  extensive  surveys  all  along  the 
coast  of  the  Isthmus  and  to  the  south,  for  his  govern- 
ment, and  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  ground. 
An  accident  prevented  his  attending  the  conference. 
Three  of  the  gentleman  named  could  have  given  the  con- 
ference most  valuable  and  instructive  information,  but 
they  found  a  pre-arranged  meeting,  where  their  views 
went  for  naught.  The  Panama  route  was  to  be,  and  was 
adopted  as  M.  de  Lesseps  had  intended  it  should  be.  He 
bulldozed  his  committees  and  reigned  with  a  rod  of  iron. 
Reasonable  objections  made  by  M.  Lavalley,  who  referred 
to  le  grande  inconnue  de  la  Chagres,  and  other  eminent 
French  engineers,  were  practically  silenced.  A  most 
important  fact,  which  must  not  be  overlooked,  is  that  the 
Wyse  concession  was  sold  to  the  Canal  Company  for  the 
modest  sum  of  ten  millions  of  francs,  or  two  millions  of 
dollars.  On  the  29th  day  of  May  the  conference  held  its 
final  session,  and  after  giving  a  recapitulation  of  the 
principal  schemes  as  prepared  by  the  sub-committee  of 
the  4th,  or  Technical  Comrnittee,  the  following  was  put 
to  a  vote : 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  243 

"  The  conference  deem  that  the  construction  of  an 
interoceanic  canal,  so  desirable  in  the  interests  of  com- 
merce and  navigation,  is  possible,  and  in  order  to  have 
the  indispensable  facilities  and  ease  of  access  and  of  use, 
which  a  work  of  this  kind  shos^ild  offer  above  all  others, 
it  should  be  built  from  the  Gulf  of  '  Limon '  (Colon)  to 
the  Bay  of  Panama." 

This  resolution  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  seventy-eight 
members,  nineteen  of  whom  were  engineers  and  pro- 
fessional men.  Of  this  number  nine  had  been  connected 
with  the  Suez  Canal;  eight  voted  no.  including  M. 
Lavalley  and  other  equally  independent  thinkers; 
twelve  abstained  from  voting  and  thirty-eight  were  ab- 
sent. 

The  conference  simply  gave  form  to  what  had  been 
decided  upon  previous  to  the  meeting.  M.  de  Lesseps, 
in  a  skilful,  diplomatic  way,  had  forecast  the  whole 
thing,  had  instructed  who  should  be  invited,  and  had 
pre-arranged  the  issue.  It  partook  of  the  nature  of  a 
farce,  and  one  of  magnificent  proportions.  Still  it  had 
attained  its  object  and  had  secured  a  high  sounding 
name,  and  its  findings  appeared  before  the  world  as  a 
properly  matured  scheme.  Following  it  a  technical 
commission  to  visit  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  was  in 
order. 

It  was  composed  of  engineers  of  ifenown,  geologists, 
and  others ;  such  as  Col.  Geo.  M.  Totten,  Chief  Engineer 
of  the  Panama  Railway,  Gen.  W.  W.  Wright,  United 
States  Engineers,  Gen.  Dirks,  Victor  .Dauzats,  E.  Bou- 
ton,  Pedro  A.  Sosa,  Alexander  Ortega,  C.  Convreux, 
Jr.,  and  Gaston  Blanchet.  These,  "with  M.  de  Lesseps 
and  many  others,  visited  the  Isthmus  early  in  1880, 
during  the  dry  or  best  season  of  the  year.  They  had  a 
delightful  time  and  were  feted  right  royally.  M.  de 
Lesseps  was  enchanted  with  the  blue  skies  and  genial 
air  of  the  early  dry  season.  Good  Dame  Nature  ap- 
peared in  her  becoming  mantle  of  tropical  vegetation. 
With  that  inimitable  fluency  of  language  peculiar  to  the 
French,  in  his  reports  he  painted  the  Isthmus  as  the  true 
garden  of  Paradise, 


244  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

To  get  back  to  Italian  skies,  tropical  scenes  and  the 
two  earlier  openings  of  the  canal,  I  want  my  I'eaders  to 
bear  in  mind  that  the  commission  with  M.  de  Lesseps  on 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama  agreed  to  estimate  the  cost  of 
the  work  at  the  prices  fixed  by  the  Paris  Congress,  and 
the  following  estimates  were  given  out  by  the  commis- 
sion: 

You  will  please  bear  in  mind  that  the  Commission 
based  its  calculations  on  the  figures  of  the  Paris  Con- 
gress and  placed  the  total  cost  of  its  construction  at 
843,000,000  francs,  or  taking  the  francs  at  five  to  the 
dollar,  we  get  the  sum  of  $108,600,000,  United  States  gold. 

The  Commission  sailed  for  New  York  in  the  steam- 
ship Colon,  Captain  Griffin,  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steam- 
ship Company,  While  on  its  way  to  New  York,  M. 
de  Lesseps  reduced  the  $168,600,000  to  $120,000,000.  He 
floated  $60,000,000  or  300,000,000  francs  as  his  first  loan, 
and  gave  out  that  the  canal  could  be  completed  for 
600,000,000  francs  or  $120,000,000. 

The  route  lies  between  the  city  of  Colon  on  the  Atlan- 
tic and  the  city  of  Panama  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Leav- 
ing Colon  it  closely  follows  the  line  of  the  Panama 
Eailroad,  crossing  amid  swamps  and  quicksands  in  the 
Mindi  district  to  Gatun  on  the  river  Chagres;  thence 
onward  to  Emperador.  Leaving  Emperador,  the  highest 
point  on  the  range  or  "divide,"  is  reached,  namely 
Culebra,  from  where  it  descends  the  valley  of  the  Rio 
Grande  to  the  Bay  of  Panama.  From  near  Paraiso  on 
the  Panama  side,  the  canal,  if  ever  completed,  will  pass 
through  six  miles  of  swampy  country. 

In  the  swamps  on  both  sides  of  the  Isthmus,  there  is  a 
luxuriant  growth  of  vegetable  life,  owing  to  the  ever 
present  factors  great  heat  and  great  moisture,  with  a 
corresponding  rapid  growth  and  decay.  Quite  apart 
from  these  most  important  factors  in  the  production  of 
malarial  poisons,  there  is  a  constant  admixture  of  salt 
and  fresh  water,  the  latter  coming  from  the  interior 
laden  with  the  remains  of  decomposing  vegetable  organ- 
isms. All  the  best  know- n  factors  for  the  production  of 
intense  malarial  poisons  there  exist. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  245 

M.  de  Lesseps'  plans  are,  briefly :  an  open  cut  canal,  on 
tide-level,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  at  a  uniform  depth  of 
twenty-seven  feet,  six  inches  below  the  level  of  both 
oceans.  Its  length  will  be  some  forty -five  and  a  half 
miles.  Width  at  bottom  seventy-two  feet,  at  water  line 
ninety  feet.  Owing  to  the  great  difference  in  the  tides 
of  the  two  oceans,  a  vast  tidal  basin  must  be  constructed 
on  the  Pacific  side.  The  basin  will  be  made  in  the 
swamps  of  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  extending  in- 
land towards  Paraiso. 

M.  de  Lesseps  in  his  calculation  of  $120,000,000,  made 
no  provision,  I  believe,  for  a  tidal  basin.  That,  now 
planned  by  M.  Jules  Dingier,  of  the  Ponts  et  Chausees 
of  France,  the  Director  General  of  works  at  Panama,  is 
a  magnificent  affair,  which  will  be  nearly  three  quarters 
of  a  mile  square.  An  engineer  who  had  just  completed 
surveys  there  informed  me  that  this  basin  will  cost  fully 
$30,000,000  additional,  a  handsome  sum  in  itself.  It  was 
barely  six  months  ago  that  the  Canal  Company  had  a 
final  survey  made  of  this  locality.  M.  de  Lesseps  and 
his  Technical  Commission,  in  their  very  superficial  sur- 
vey, had  looked  on  it  as  a  swamp  only.  A  swamp  only, 
say  you !  Yes ;  but  fancy  the  company's  surprise  after 
having  been  on  the  Isthmus  fully  three  years  and  a  half, 
to  learn  that  under  the  surface  of  that  peaceful  malarial 
breeding  swamp,  at  a  varying  depth  of  twelve  to  sixteen 
feet,  was  one  vast  ledge  of  volcanic  rock !  This  final  and 
complete  survey  was  made  by  American  engineers. 

Next  in  order  is  the  cut  at  Culebra,  a  vast  undertaking 
in  itself.  The  calculations  for  the  angle  or  sides  of  this 
deep  cut  were  placed  at  one  in  one.  Such  an  angle 
would  be  impossible  in  a  country  where  the  rain  falls  in 
torrents  and  where  the  Upper  Chagres  River  has  risen 
sixty  feet  between  banks  as  a  result  of  a  single  day's 
rain.  The  sides,  to  have  any  stability,  must  be  one  in 
four.  What  does  one  in  four  mean?  First  picture  to 
yourselves  a  hill  339.6  feet  above  sea  level;  to  this  add 
27. 6  feet  to  reach  the  bottom  of  the  canal,  and  it  gives  a 
total  depth  of  the  cut  as  367  feet,  with  a  breadth  at  the 
bottom  of  72  feet,  at  water  line  of  90  feet.     From  this 


246  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

point  upwards  calculate  the  sides  at  one  in  four,  and 
it  gives  a  vast  cut  of  nearly  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
across. 

In  M.  de  Lesseps'  calculations,  the  railroad  level  of 
238.6  feet  at  the  summit  was  used.  Later  surveys 
showed  that  the  bend  there  would  be  too  sharp.  The 
next  best  level  was  100  feet  higher,  and  on  the  latter  they 
are  now  working.  It  is  said  that  this  will  add  at  least 
another  20,000,000  of  cubic  metres  of  excavation  not 
included  in  the  original  estimates,  that  will  cost  any- 
where from  $40, 000, 000  to  |50, 000, 000  additional.  An  offi- 
cer of  the  United  States  Navy  estimates  that  this  cut 
alone  will  take  at  least  ten  years  to  complete. 

Then  comes  the  problem  of  damming  the  Chagres 
River  at  Gamboa.  This  is  another  colossal  undertaking 
— the  penning  up  of  the  waters  of  a  tropical  river,  which 
drains  a  great  valley  region  amid  mountains.  In  the 
original  estimates  $20,000,000  were  allotted  for  this  pur- 
pose. Up  to  the  time  of  my  leaving  Panama,  on  the 
25th  of  April,  1888,  no  plan  had  been  made  public  that 
solved  this  knotty  point.  Survey  after  survey  had  only 
developed  new  difficulties.  The  loroportions  of  the  pro- 
jected dam  as  taken  from  the  report  of  Captain  Bedford 
Pim,  of  the  British  Navy,  to  the  late  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  United  States  of  America,  is  as 
follows : 

Length  at  base, 1,050  metres. 

Leugth  at  top, 2,110  metres. 

Thickness, 330  metres. 

Height, 47  metres. 

When  we  know,  and  realize,  that  there  is  no  rocky 
foundation  on  which  to  place  such  a  colossal  dam,  we 
are  dazed  at  the  daring  of  the  whole  scheme.  Let  us 
suppose  the  dam  built,  to  divert  the  river.  A  new  bed 
will  have  to  be  dvig  for  it  some  nine  miles  to  Colon, 
where  its  new  outlet  will  be  to  the  north  of  that  city.  A 
promineat  canal  engineer  said  to  me :  ' '  The  damming  of 
the  Chagres  River  seems  a  hopeless  task.  I,  as  a  French- 
man, should  not  say  so,  but  it  is  true  nevertheless." 


FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA.  247 

Every  five  or  six  years  vast  inundations  fill  the  valley 
of  the  Chagres  and  Upper  Obispo.  Twelve  miles  from 
Panama  is  Emperador,  across  the  "divide"  towai'ds 
Colon.  The  railroad  follows  the  valley  of  the  Chagres 
and  the  Obispo  as  well ;  while  the  canal  closely  follows 
it.  Hills  of  considerable  height  are  met  with  on  the 
Colon  side,  and  in  the  valley  between  these  hills  the 
waters  pile  up  in  fine  fashion.  During  the  last  heavy 
flood  in  the  fall  of  1879,  there  were  from  twelve  to  eigh- 
teen feet  of  water  in  many  places  over  the  bed  of  the 
railway.  A  Colombian  engineer  on  the  Commission, 
Mr.  Pedro  Sosa,  during  that  flood  took  a  bungo  or  canoe 
at  Tiger  Hill,  some  nine  miles  from  Colon,  and  proceeded 
direct  to  Emperador  or  over  what  will  be  fully  twenty- 
six  miles  of  the  projected  canal.  The  fleod  lasted  four 
days,  washing  away  houses,  the  track,  etc.  Such  are 
the  tropical  floods  of  that  locality.  What  will  become 
of  a  tide-level  or  any  other  canal  under  such  treatment 
need  not  be  dwelt  on. 

Here  again  an  American  engineer  comes  to  the  front. 
The  Canal  Company  had  had  their  legions  of  engineers 
at  work  for  nearly  three  years,  and  knew  nothing  of 
these  floods.  Mr.  Eobt.  K.  Wright,  Jr. ,  late  of  the  U. 
S.  N.,  made  a  report  on  these  floods  and  furnished 
reliable  information.  An  undeniable  fact  of  this  nature 
proves  very  conclusively  that  the  French  entered  on 
the  building  of  the  canal  hastily  and  without  due  knowl- 
edge. 

Having  but  too  briefly  considered  the  tidal  basin,  the 
gigantic  cut  at  Culebra,  the  unruly  Chagres,  of  which  a 
canal  chaplain  said :  ' '  They  must  dam  it  or  it  will  damn 
them ; "  let  us  consider  the  last  of  the  very  prominent 
obstacles  that  beset  M.  de  Lesseps's  Panama  Canal 
scheme.  I  refer  to  the  swamps  and  quicksands  at 
Mindi,  a  few  miles  inland  from  Colon. 

In  building  the  Panama  Railway,  as  I  have  already 
stated,  the  late  Col.  George  M.  Totten,  the  chief  engineer, 
found  in  the  swamps  of  Mindi  a  very  serious  obstacle. 
When  his  staff  commenced  their  soundings  they  failed 
to  get  bottom  at  180  feet.     But  as  he  was  building  a 


248  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

railway  the  difficulty  was  solved,  as  at  Chat  Moss,  by 
throwing  in  immense  quantities  of  wood,  earth,  etc., 
and  finally  floating  the  road  bed  on  the  materials  below. 

When  we  consider  that  the  swamps  extend  for  several 
miles,  and  remember  that  below  are  quicksands,  we  can 
judge  of  the  almost  insurmountable  difficulty  at  this 
point  for  a  canal.  It  is  said  that  the  French  engineers, 
after  diverting  the  course  of  the  Chagi-es,  hope  to  use 
its  waters  to  flush  this  immense  body  of  sand  out  to 
sea.  Excellent,  if  possible;  but  if  possible,  what 
becomes  of  the  deep  water  harbor  at  Colon,  on  Limon 
Bay? 

On  the  28th  February,  1881,  the  first  detachment  of 
canal  engineers  reached  Colon,  or  Aspinwall,  and  pro- 
ceeded direct  to  Panama,  Then  followed  surveys,  the 
building  of  small  villages  along  the  proposed  line  of 
the  canal,  the  erection  of  hospitals,  and  an  immense 
amount  of  gush  on  paper.  Many  of  the  accounts  of 
the  work  done,  and  published  in  the  Parisian  press, 
read  like  a  tale  of  magic.  I  do  not  offer  any  translations 
of  the  couleur  de  rose  statements,  fearing  that  their 
French  fragrance  may  be  lost  in  our  plain  English 
tongue. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  share  and  bond  holders 
in  July,  1884,  M.  de  Lesseps  said  that  the  canal  could 
be  completed  in  1887,  and  that  this  had  been  proved 
mathematically  —  I  quote  his  own  words — but  to  err 
on  the  side  of  safety,  he  would  add  a  year,  and  say 
December,  1888,  for  its  final  opening.  He  brought 
forward  the  budget  for  the  next  year,  etc.,  etc. 

In  1884,  La  Bourse  Pour  Tours,  a  Parisian  paper, 
announced  the  indebtedness  of  the  company  to  its  share 
and  bondholders  as  being  700,000,000  francs,  or  $140,000,- 
000  gold.  Annual  interest  22,875,000  francs,  or  say 
$4,500,000  in  1884. 

After  four  years'  work  and  an  expenditure  said  to 
vary  in  amount  from  $90,000,000  to  $125,000,000,  how 
much  has  been  done  ?  Taking  their  own  figures,  a 
twentieth  of  the  whole  will  be  a  generous  estimate.  The 
gross  cube  to  be  removed  was  at  first  75,000,000  cubic 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  249 

metres;  it  rose  to  88,000,000,  then  110,000,000,  when  Mr. 
Joseph  W.  Adamson,  C.  E.,  Vice-Consul  General  U.  S. 
A.  at  Panama,  calculated  it  for  an  expert  and  placed  it 
at  150,000,000.  Later  his  calculations  were  verified  by 
an  officer  of  the  Panama  Canal  Company,  who  in  a  new 
estimate  gave  it  at  153,400,000  including  the  new  basin, 
etc.,  being  more  than  double  the  original  calculations. 

As  far  back  as  1884  I  said  and  wrote  : 

"  The  canal  is  a  commercial  jmpossibihty.  and  the  end 
is  noFlfar  distant^  Unless  animmense  loan  is  floated 
within  six  months,  in  another  year  work  will  have 
ceased  and  thousands  and  thousands  of  shareholders 
will  have  lost  their  all  in  what  looks  uncommonly  like 
a  South  Sea  bubble.  To  complete  it  would  cost  prob- 
ably from  $400,000,000  to  $500,000,000  ;  such  a  fabu- 
lous sum  that  no  existing  tonnage  would  pay  interest  on 
it. 

' '  Finally  the  canal  has  had  a  political  aspect.  I  say 
has  had,  for  the  kindly  intervention  of  the  American 
forces  at  Panama  not  only  saved  that  city  from  the  fate 
that  destroyed  Colon,  but  showed  the  world  at  large  that 
this  vast  and  great  Republic  will  permit  no  foreign  in- 
trigue on  the  American  Isthmus  and  further  that  she 
will  see  that  peace  and  order  is  maintained  there  accord- 
ing to  her  treaty  with  Colombia."  * 

The  Economist e,  June  25,  1886  :  "  True  patriotism 
consists  in  preventing  one's  country  from  ruining  itself 
for  the  profit  of  another. 

' '  Considering  the  blindness  of  those  who  advocate  it, 
the  undertaking  of  the  Panama  Canal  may  be  considered 
an  equivalent  of  the  war  of  1870.  Within  due  propor- 
tions, it  is  a  similar  unfathomable  and  irreparable  dis- 
aster which  is  in  preparation." 

Economiste,  July  23,  1887:  "At  the  fatal  point 
which  they  have  now  reached,  if  the  administrators, 
shareholders  and  bondholders  do  not  know  how  to 
make  the  necessary  sacrifices,  the  year  1889  or  1890 
will  witness  the  most  terrible  financial  disaster  of  the 

*  The  Independent,  Santa  Barbara,  ('olombia,  J\iue  20,  188.'). 


350  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

nineteenth  century  and  probably  of  all  modern  his- 
tory." 

The  Economiste  Frangais,  December  3,  1887:  "From 
all  information  received  through  other  channels  than 
the  company,  it  is  really  shown  that  the  situation  of 
the  undertaking,  is  getting  more  and  more  hopeless. 
According  to  the  calculations  of  Mr.  Tanco  Armero,  the 
Colombian  delegate  to  the  company,  the  completion  of 
the  canal  would  necessitate  an  expense  of  3,000,OQO,000 
francs*  ($579,000,000 )  for  actual  work,  which  with 
the  general  expenses  and  interest  would  represent 
over  4,000,000,000  francs  ($772,000,000)  still  to  pour 
into  this  abyss.  The  year  1888  will  certainly  see 
the  liquidation  of  the  company.  The  lottery-bonds 
can  do  nothing  towards  meeting  such  great  necessities." 

"  The  documents  published  by  M.  de  Lesseps  and  the 
company,  documents  which  will  be  found  reproduced 
further  on,  go  to  corroborate  the  opinions  expressed  by 
M.  Leroy  Beaulieu,  and  will  remove  all  doubts  from  the 
minds  of  those  who  still  have  faith  in  this  disastrous 
affair. 

' '  I  must  add  that  as  the  interoceanic  Bulletin,  from 
which  I  take  the  extracts,  is  the  only  official  journal  of 
the  company,  these  citations  cannot  be  refuted. 

' '  We  shall  now  review  the  various  questions  raised  by 
the  letter  addressed  on  November  15,  1887,  by  M.  F.  de 
Lesseps  to  the  Cabinet  of  the  French  Republic,  request- 
ing the  authorization  for  raising  a  loan  of  five  hundred 
and  sixty-five  million  francs  secured  by  lottery  bonds." 

The  above  is  from  Philipon's  letter  published  in  Suez 
and  Panama. 

FIRST  ESTIMATE. 

Bulletin,  September  1,  1879,  page  6  :  "  We  will  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  real  cost  of  the  tide-level 
canal,  via  Panama,  is  six  hundred  and  twelve  million 
francs." 


*  Oue  franc  is  worth  $0,193. 


FIVE  YEAR8  AT  PANAMA.  251 


SECOND  ESTIMATE. 

Bulletin,  March  15,  1880,  page  116:  "I  recapitulate  my 
reductions  "  says  M.  F.  de  Lesseps.  "  Total  one  hundred 
and  eighty-four  millions  to  deduct  from  eight  hundred 
and  forty-three  leaves  indeed  six  hundred  arid  fifty- 
eight  million  francs  to  figure  upon,  I  make  no  remarks 
as  to  the  quantity  or  price  per  cubic  metre  of  soft  or 
hard  rock,  but  on  this  head  great  savings  can  be 
expected  which  will  more  than  compensate  the  interest 
to  pay  to  the  shareholders  for  the  capital  invested  dur- 
ing the  construction." 

N.  B. — It  is  really  surprising  to  see  M.  de  Lesseps, 
who  is  not  an  engineer,  reduce  by  a  mere  stroke  of  the 
pen,  the  estimates  made  by  a  congress,  and  the  capital- 
ists must  be  very  blind  who  put  a  thousand  million 
francs  into  an  enterprise  entered  upon  with  so  much 
thoughtlessness. 

THIRD   ESTIMATE. 

Bulletin,  June  15,  1880,  page  182:  "All  that  it  will 
cost  will  he  five  hundred  millions  to  spend  in  six  years." 
— (F.  de  Lesseps.) 

FOURTH  ESTIMATE. 

Bulletin,  December  1,  1880,  page  225:  "It  is  now 
known  what  the  cost  of  the  canal  may  be  expected  to 
be ;  the  expenses  will  not  run  over  six  hundred  million 
francs,  and  the  work  will  be  completed  in  six  years.''' 

And  so  on,  until  1885,  when  the  company  discovered 
that  it  had  spent  nearly  five  hundred  millions  and  that 
the  promised  canal  was  hardly  commenced. 

FIFTH    ESTIMATE. 

Letter  of  May  27,  1885,  from  the  company  to  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior :  ' '  The  expense  of  constructing  the 
tide-level  canal  will  approximate  one  thousand  and 
seventy  million  francs.''^ 


253  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 


SIXTH    ESTIMATE. 

Bulletin,  March  12,  1886:  "The  cost  of  the  tide-level 
Panama  canal  will  be  one  thousand  and  seventy  mil- 
lions, and  with  the  interest,  one  thousand,  two  hundred 
million  francs. " 

Seventh  estimate  of  a  tide-level  canal  suddenly  trans- 
formed into  a  provisional  lock-canal,  4  metres,  57  cen- 
timetres in  depth,  instead  of  9  metres.* 

Extract  from  the  letter  of  November  15,  1887,  to  the 
Prime  Minister:  '' Ihave  the  honor  to  ash  the  authoriza- 
tion of  raising  a  loan  of  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  mil- 
lion francs,  which  maybe  necessary.'''' 

If  we  add  these  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  millions 
to  the  one  thousand  and  fifty-nine  millions  resulting 
from  the  loans  and  temporary  investments  and  receipts 
of  the  railroad,  we  have  a  total  of  one  thousand,  six 
hundred  and  fifty-four  millions,  which  is  such  a  consid- 
erable sum  that  it  would  have  been  sufficient  to  establish 
two  canals,  a  tide-level  one  estimated  at  one  thousand  and 
seventy  millions,  and  one  with  locks  estimated  at  five  hun- 
dred and  seventy  millions. 

We  read,  indeed,  in  the  Bidletin  of  September  1,  1879, 
page  6:  "The  lock-canal  via  Panama  is  only  estimated 
at  five  hundred  and  seventy  millions,  it  is  true,  whereas 
the  expenses  of  the  tide-level  canal  would  be  in  the 
neighborhood  of  one  thousand  and  seventy  millions." 

Let  us  recapitulate  these  estimates : 

First  September,  1879,  cost  of  a  tide-level  canal, 

completed, 612  millions. 

Second  March,  1880,   cost  of  a  tide-level  canal, 

completed, 658  millions. 

Third  June,  1880,  cost  of  a  tide-level  canal  com- 
pleted,       500  millions. 

Fourth  December,  1880,  cost  of  a  tide-level  canal, 

completed, 600  millions. 

Fifth  May,  1885,  cost  of  a  tide-level  canal  com- 
pleted,      1070  millions. 

*One  metre  equals  3.2808992  feet. 


FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA.  253 

Sixth  March,  1886,   cost  of   a  tide-level  canal 

completed, 1200  millions. 

Seventh  November,  1887,  cost  of  an  unfinished, 
provisional  canal  ivlth  locks,  and  4  metres 
57  centimetres  in  depth,  instead  of  9 
metres, 1654  millions. 

We  are  far  indeed  from  the  famous  contract  of  Cou- 
vrex  &  Hersent,  which  guaranteed  the  entire  digging  of 
a  tide-level  canal,  for  five  hundred  and  twelve  millions, 
and  equally  far  from  the  calculation  of  the  Congress 
which  estimated  it  at  five  hundred  and  seventy  millions, 
for  a  complete  and  not  temporary  lock-canal. 

ESTIMATED  TRAFFIC. 

Extract  from  M.  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1887:  "  To  give  passage,  commencing  the  first  year,  to  a 
traffic  calcidated  at  7,500,000  tons.''^ 

For  eight  years  past  the  publications  of  the  company, 
state  and  repeat  in  every  issue,  that  Mr.  Levasseur,  in  his 
report  to  the  congress,  stated  that  7,500,000  tons  will 
pass  through  the  canal  the  year  it  is  opened. 

Mr.  Levasseur  has  never  made  such  a  statement  and 
the  company  knows  it  better  than  any  one,  as  it  pub- 
lished in  its  Bidletin  of  February  15,  1880,  page  104,  the 
report  of  Mr.  Levasseur,  of  which  the  following  is  an 
exact  copy : 

"  It  is  important  that  the  bearing  of  these  figures  be 
not  misunderstood.  They  do  not  mean  that  the 
7,250,000  tons  will  necessarily  pass  through  the  canal 
the  year  of  its  opening,  nor  the  succeeding  years.  .  .  . 
We  give  in  a  lump  the  gross  amount ;  we  do  not  say  what 
share  of  it  ivill  go  to  each  of  the  means  of  communica- 
tion which  tvill  then  exist  across  or  soidh  of  the  Ameri- 
can continent.'''' 

As  may  be  seen,  the  honorable  Mr.  Levasseur  never 
wrote  what  the  company  credits  him  with. 

To  get  an  idea  of  the  value  of  this  total  traffic  esti- 
timated  by  the  Congress,  it  is  well  to  know  that  the 
total  of  7,250,000  tons  was  established  without  documents 


254  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

or  by  means  of  vague  and  uncertain  documents,  and 
after  six  sittings  of  a  total  duration  of  six  and  three 
quarter  hours.  (See  the  report  of  the  meetings  of  the 
Congress  of  1879,  page  25  and  subsequent  pages.) 

The  Congress  declared  therefore  that  during  the  year 
of  the  inauguration  of  the  canal,  the  gross  traffic  of  the 
American  continent  with  the  whole  world  would  prob- 
ably be  7,250,000  tons,  without  stating  which  way  all  or 
pa7't  of  this  total  would  take. 

In  order  to  further  its  enterprise,  the  company  takes 
the  total  of  7,500,000  as  the  traffic  assured  to  the  tem- 
porary lock-canal,  and  by  so  figuring  obtains  one  hundred 
and  twelve  millions  of  receipts,  forgetting  that  on  May 
27,  1885,  in  the  company's  letter  to  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  it  had  fixed  the  transit  at  four  millions  tons 
only,  for  a  tide-level  canal  entirely  finished. 

According  to  the  Bulletiyi  of  December  16,  1887,  page 
1910,  the  provisional  canal  is  to  be  but  4  metres  57  centi- 
metres deep ;  thus  not  a  single  ship  will  be  able  to  pass, 
as  in  the  tenth  Bidletin  of  the  Suez  Canal  of  the  22d 
of  December  last  it  was  stated  the  ships  that  go  through 
Suez  have  a  minimum  draft  of  7  metres.  Therefore, 
without  sufficient  depth,  no  traffic  is  possible. 

WORKMEN. 

Extract  from  M.  F,  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1887. 

"  Jif  was  possible  to  execute  the  ivork  in  eight  years  by 
doubling  the  plant,  which  ivas  done ;  this  plant,  collec- 
tively corresponding  to  a  group  of  30,0^0^  ^'^  40,0'^"^  ^"'^''^fr- 
men.  I  was  in  hopes  that  the  contractors  would  obtain 
iliat  number.^'' 

Bidletin,  February  1,  1881,  page  315:  "Orders  are 
already  prepared  for  the  construction  of  steam  engines 
by  means  of  which  we  will  not  have  to  employ  more 
than  8,000  day  laborers."   (Meeting  of  January  31,  1881.) 

Bulletin,  July  15,  1880,  page  210:  "■Six  years  will  be 
sufficient  to  accomplish  the  work,  viz.,  1,500  days,  count- 
ing 250  days  per  annum;  50,000  cubic  metres*  per  day 

*  One  cubic  metre  equals  1(31  cvibic  yard. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  255 

with  8,000  u'orJcmen,  the  machines  and  the  necessary- 
motive  power." — (F.  de  Lesseps.) 

BuUetin,  March  4,  1881,  page  333:  "  The  execution  of 
this  programme  will  not  require  more  than  8,000  to  10,- 
000  workmen,  dm'ing  the  most  active  period  of  the 
work."— (General  Meeting,  March  3,  1881.) 

Bulletin,  December  15,  1883,  page  905:  ''Recruiting 
workmen  is  extremely  easy.  In  a  short  time  the  com- 
pany will  have  15,000  laborers  and  this  number  could 
easily  he  carried  to  20,000,30,000  and  even  40,000." 

Bulletin,  April  15,  1886,  page  1,479:  "57,000  horse- 
power, that  is,  574,000  men  of  iron  and  steel,  without 
counting  those  of  flesh  and  bone !  What  a  manifestation 
of  human  power !  " 

Bulletin,  May  1,  1886,  page  1491:  "^I.  de  Molinari,  cor- 
respondent of  the  Debats,  a  man  ofgre^t  Avorth,  very 
competent,  very  calm,  an  experienced  judge,  has  calcu- 
lated that  the  machines  for  performing  the  Avork  repre- 
sent the  laboring  power  of  500,000  men." 

Until  1886,  the  company  had  stated  and  repeated 
that  workmen  were  abundant  and  there  was  no  lack  of 
them;  but  it  now  pretends  that  its  work-yards  are  de- 
serted. Could  it  be  that  notwithstanding  the  climate, 
which,  according  to  the  company,  is  a  very  healthy  one, 
the  workmen  are  dead  ? 

To  sum  up,  the  company  at  the  start  asked  for  8,000 
workmen  at  the  most,  to  dig  in  six  j^ears  a  tide-level 
canal,  and  for  a  long  time  it  has  possessed  574,000  men  of 
iron  and  steel,  Avithout  counting  those  of  flesh  and  bone. 

It  complains  nevertheless,  and  declares  that  it  cannot 
finish  its  canal  for  want  of  workmen.  Whose  fault 
isit  ? 

VARIOUS  OPENING  DATES  ACCORDING  TO  THE  COMPANY. 

Extract  from  M.  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1887.  We  admit  that  the  inauguration  cannot  take 
place  before  the  first  days  of  1890  (read  February  3d, 
1890). 

This  date  was  fixed  by  M.  de  Lesseps  at  the  Academy 
gf  Sciences,  on  October  31,  1887, 


256  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

First,  Positive  Inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal  on 
October  1,  1887. 

Bulletin,  February  1,  1880,  page  84:  "This  very 
day  I  will  make  an  appointment  to  meet  you  at  Panama 
seven  years  hence,  on  October  first,  1887,  for  the  inaugu- 
ration of  the  canal,  and  I  hope  that  the  same  deputation, 
composed  of  the  same  men,  will  keep  the  appointment 
punctually.  I  thank  you  once  more  for  your  kind 
wishes,  and  regret  that  I  cannot  shake  hands  with,  and 
embrace  you  all." — (F.  de  Lesseps.) 

Second  Inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal  on  January 
1,  1888. 

Bulletin,  August  1,  1884,  page  1041:  Even  though 
we  should  not  commence  the  dry  workings  until  Jan- 
uary 1,  1885,  and  the  dredging  work  on  January  1, 
1886,  the  canal  could  mathematically  be  completed  on 
January  first,  1888." — (General  Meeting.) 

Third  Inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal  in  1888. 

' '  That  is  what  permitted  me  to  foresee  that  the  canal 
would  be  completed  in  1888." — (Letter  addressed  to  Mr. 
Philipon  by  M.  de  Lesseps,  on  November  6,  1883.) 

Bulletin,  August  1,  1885,  page  1260:  "The  organiza- 
tion of  the  working  camps,  the  installation  along  the 
whole  line  of  twenty-seven  contractors  piercing  the  isth- 
mus at  their  own  risk  and  peril,  an  immense  stock  on 
working  footing,  is  such  as  to  allow  the  canal  to  be  com- 
pleted and  inaugurated  in  1888."— (Letter  of  May  27, 
1885,  from  M.  F.  de  Lesseps  to  the  Minister  of  the  Inte- 
rior, to  obtain  the  authorization  of  raising  a  loan  of  six 
hundred  milhon  francs  on  lottery  bonds.) 

Fourth  Inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal  in  April, 
1889. 

Bulletin,  February  15,  1886,  page  1404:  "We  will  re- 
turn to  Europe  in  two  months  and  in  three  years  from 
that  time  our  one  hundred  million  cubic  metres  of  earth 
and  rocks  will  be  extracted  and  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic 
oceans  will  be  united."— (F.  de  Lesseps.) 

Fifth  Inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal  on  March 
1,  1889. 

Bulletin,  April  15,  1886,  page  1478:    "On  one  of  these 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  257 

days,  you  have,  by  a  spontaneous  inspiration,  fixed  the 
date  of  the  opening  of  the  canal  as  March  first,  1889." 
— (Speech  of  Bishop  Thiel,  of  Costa  Rica,  to  M,  de 
Lesseps.) 

Sixth  Inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal  in  July,  1886, 
at  the  latest. 

"We  reach  the  irrefutable  conclusion  that  the  Pan- 
ama canal  will  be  completed  in  July,  1889,  at  the  latest." 

Bulletin,  February  1,  1886,  page  1390:  "For  my 
part,  I  am  positive  that  I  will  be  able  in  sixty  days  from 
now,  to  repeat  to  you,  authoritatively,  that  the  work 
will  be  accomplished  in  the  course  of  the  year  1889." — (F, 
de  Lesseps  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  on  January  27, 
1886.) 

Seventh  Inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal  in  1889. 

Bulletin,  May  1,  1886,  page  1492:  "After  having  thor- 
oughly studied  the  technical  question  and  every  inch  of 
the  ground  on  the  whole  line  of  the  canal  ....  As 
to  the  question  of  the  time  necessary  to  finish  it,  my 
father  has  said  that  it  will  be  certainly  completed  in 
1889;  I  am  entirely  of  his  opinion." — (Charles- Aime  de 
Lesseps,  Vice-President  of  the  company.) 

First  Inauguration  (February  3,  1890)  of  an  incom- 
plete canal,  provisionally  of  4  metres  57  centimetres  in 
depth,  instead  of  9  metres,  and  suddenly  transformed  into 
a  lock-canal. 

Company's  letter  of  November  15,  1887: 

"  We  admit  that  the  inauguration  of  the  ship-canal 
cannot  take  place  until  the  first  days  of  1890."  (Read 
February  3d.) 

SUMIMARY, 

First  positive  inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal, 
October  1,  1887. 

Second  positive  inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal, 
January  1,  1888. 

Third  positive  inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal,  in 
1888. 

Fourth  positive  inauguration  of   a  tide-level   canal, 
April,  1889. 
17 


258  FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

Fifth   positive    inauguration    of    a   tide-level    canal, 
March  1,  18S9. 
Sixth  positive  inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal,  July, 

1889,  at  the  latest. 

Seventh  positive  inauguration  of  a  tide-level  canal,  in 
1889. 

Fii'st  inauguration  of  a  provisional  canal,  not  at  the 
level,  4  metres,  57  centimetres  deep,  and  suddenly  trans- 
foi'med  into  a  canal  with  locks,  February  3,  1890. 

Has  the  company  solemnly  announced  seven  different 
inauguration  days?     Yes. 

Has  a  single  inauguration  taken  place?    No. 

Can,  therefore,  the  one  announced    for  February  3, 

1890,  be  relied  upon?    No. 

What  do  our  Honorable  Senators  and  Deputies  think 
of  these  numerous  inaugurations?  * 

N.  B. — For  the  depth  of  4  metres  57  centimetres  see  the 
Bulletin  of  December  16,  1887,  page  1910. 

Singular  coincidence  of  inauguration  announcements, 
and  loans : 

In  August,   1880,  promise  of  a  definitive 

inauguration,  in  1887 Loan,  300  millions. 

In  December,  1882,  promise  of  a  definitive 

inauguration,  in  1888 Loan,  109        " 

In  October,  1883,  promise  of  a  definitive 

and  certain  inauguration  in  1888    Loan,  171        " 

In  August,  1884,  promise  of  a  definitive, 
certain  and  /;mi/jemaftcaZ  inauguration 
in  1888 Loan,  159        " 

In    July,   1886.   promise    of    a    definitive 

inauguration  witliin  the  proper  limits,    Loan,  206        *' 

In  July,  1887,  promise  of  a  definite  inau- 
guration, with  hopes  of  its  taking  place 
in  1889 Loan,  113        " 

November  15,  1877,  promise  of  a  provis- 
ional inauguration  on  February  3, 
1890 Loan,  565        " 

*  Panama  and  tSuez,  Paris. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  259 


VARIOUS     ESTIMATES     OF     THE     EXCAVATIONS     TO     MAKE, 
ACCORDING  TO  THE  COMPANY. 

I  can  now  understand  why  the  Panama  Company 
announces  so  frequently  the  completion  of  its  canal,  and 
why  it  never  inaugurates  it. 

First,  46,150,000  cubic  metres,  Bulletin,  October  1, 
1879,  page  19. 

Second,  72,986,000  cubic  metres.  Bulletin,  September 
15,  1879. 

Third,  75,000,000  cubic  metres,  Bulletin,  July  15,  1880, 
page  210. 

Fourth,   99,391,000  cubic  metres,    Bulletin,    June   15, 

1883,  page  784. 

Fifth,  100,000,000  cubic  metres,  letter  from  M.  F.  de 
Lesseps  to  Mr.  Philipon,  November  6,  1883. 

Sixth,  102,000,000  cubic  metres,  Bulletin,  May  1,  1884, 
page  982. 

Seventh,  110,000,000  cubic  metres,  Bulletin,  August  1, 

1884,  page  1037  (General  Meeting). 

Eighth,  135,000,000  cubic  metres,  of  which  25,000,000 
are  already  removed  and  110,000,000  still  to  be  removed. 
Bulletin,  July  22,  1887,  page  1813. 

161,000,000  cubic  metres,  according  to  Mr.  Tanco 
Armero,  agent  of  the  Colombian  Government,  to  the 
Canal  Company  (Eeport  of  1887). 

In  June,  1887,  the  company  had  removed  37,000,000 
cubic  metres  and  spent  nearly  a  thousand  million  francs. 
It  is  evident  that  the  company  will  never  find  enough 
money  to  remove  the  110,000,000  cubic  metres,  at  least, 
still  to  be  excavated  to  terminate  the  tide-level 
canal. 

The  tide-level  canal,  still  spoken  of  to  the  public,  is 
therefore  nothing  more  than  a  chimera. 

IMPOSSIBILITIES    IN    THE  WAY    OF    INAUGURATING,    ON    JAN- 
UARY 3,  1890,  THE   PARTIAL,    PROVISIONAL  LOCK-CANAL. 

Extract  from  M.  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1887.     "  We  admit  that  the  inauguration  of  the  ship- 


260  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

canal  may  not  take  place  until  the  first  months  of  1890," 
(Februai'y  3). 

"This  scheme  only  leaves  40,000,000  cubic  metres  to 
excavate,  of  which  10,000,000  of  hard  ground  (read 
rock)  and  30,000,000  of  dredgable  ground.  These  reduced 
extractions  are  materially  assured  .  .  .  ." 

FIRST  LM  POSSIBILITY. 

By  vi^hom  and  how  are  these  extractions  assured? 

Accepting  as  correct  the  figures  given  of  40,000,000 
cubic  metres,  figures  which  are  probably  as  exact  as  the 
eight  different  estimates  previously  furnished  by  the 
company  (see  the  chapter  on  Excavations,  page  3),  let 
us  see  whether  it  is  possible  to  remove  them  in  two 
years. 

Bulletin,  April  1,  1886,  page  1439:  "We  have  passed 
the  period  of  groping  and  can  now  go  straight  ahead." 

"At  the  end  of  the  year  1886,  we  will  make  a  consid- 
erable jump  and  will  succeed  in  extracting  three  million 
cubic  metres  a  month." — (F.  de  Lesseps.) 

The  year  1887  is  gone,  and  the  excavations  which  were 
to  be  3,000,000  metres  a  month  could  not  reach  an  aver- 
age of  one  million  a  month. 

In  two  years,  June,  1885,  to  June,  1887,  with  work- 
yards  thoroughly  organized  and  574,000  men  of  iron  and 
steel  without  counting  those  of  flesh  and  bone,  the  com- 
pany has  extracted  22,188,000  cubic  metres,  and  nearly 
all  of  that  in  slime  and  sand,  and  now  that  its  work- 
yards  are  disorganized  and  short  of  laborers,  that  its 
machines  are  partly  worn  out  (see  Bulletins  of  1887,  and 
especially  that  of  September  16,  last),  it  pretends  that 
in  the  same  space  of  time  it  will  excavate  40,000,000, 
that  is  to  say,  double  the  quantity.  It  is  also  well  to  say 
that  since  last  August  the  extraction  has  been  so  light 
that  the  company  has  not  dared  publish  the  figures. 

It  is  true  that  M.  F.  de  Lesseps  spoke  during  the 
spring  of  1887  of  carrying  on  the  work  night  and  day; 
but  this  was  immediately  received  as  Utopian,  as  many 
of  the  dredges  and  excavators  were  inactive  even  in  the 
daytime  from  lack  of  hands. 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  261 

To  further  demonstrate  the  impossibility  of  extracting 
40,000,000  cubic  metres  in  two  years,  it  will  be  sufficient 
to  recall  what  the  company  itself  published  in  its  Bulle- 
tin of  December  1,  1879,  page  51,  concerning  the  Nicar 
agua  Canal. 

"Six  years  in  which  to  do  everything,  gates,  locks, 
dams,  bridges,  trenches,  di-edgings,  etc.,  besides  60,000, 

000  to  70,000,000  cubic  metres  of  excavations,  would  have 
been  the  consummation  of  activity.'''' 

"The  full  commission  was  obliged  to  cast  votes  to 
make  the  limit  eight  years." 

The  Panama  Company  has  about  the  same  amount  of 
work  to  perform.  Should  it  therefore  accomplish  this 
task  in  two  years  only,  it  would  be  the  culmination  of 
activity. 

In  order  to  raise  again  the  shaken  confidence  of  its 
adherents,  the  company  announces  in  its  Bulletin  of 
December  2,  1887,  that  the  total  length  of  the  canal 
already  in  water  is  twenty-five  kilometres.  That  is  pos- 
sible, but  these  twenty-five  kilometres  neither  have  the 
width  nor  the  depth  required  for  large  ships.  Further- 
more, these  twenty-five  kilometres,  being  in  the  lower 
regions,  composed  of  slime  and  light  soil,  have  been  easy 
to  excavate.  This  will  not  be  the  case  in  the  mountain- 
ous region  of  the  Culebra  where  the  celebrated  Dutch 
contractors,  who  were  to  remove  610,000  cubit  naetres 
per  month,  only  extracted  50,000,  and  finally  abandoned 
the  work. 

We  have  here  a  real  obstacle,  which  the  company  can 
never  remove  in  two  years. 

Moreover,  in  the  Bulletin  of  December  16  last,  page 
1910,  we  read,  in  bold  type,  a  competent  opinion:  "  The 
locks  will  be  temporary  and  the  work  will  be  pushed 
vigorously  after  the  road  will  be  opened  to  ships  gaug- 
ing 4  metres,  57  centimetres.  According  to  my  judg- 
ment, ships  will  cross  in  three  years  from  next  January 

1  (1888)." 

According  to  this  competent  opinion  of  Mr.  Slaven, 
one  of  the  largest  contractors  in  the  company,  the  canal 
would  only  be  opened    in   January,   1891,   and  not  in 


262  ^IVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

January,  1890,  and  then  with  a  depth  of  4  metres,  57 
centimetres;  that  is  to  say,  insufficient  for  the  passage 
of  ships  which  draw  at  least  7  metres  of  water,  as  the 
Bulletin  of  the  Suez  Canal,  of  December  22,  1887,  de- 
clares. 

SECOND  IMPOSSIBILITY. 

Messrs.  Dirks  and  Conrad,  chief  engineers  of  the 
Waterstaat  in  Holland,  considered  at  the  congress  of 
1879  to  be  the  most  competent  on  construction  of  locks, 
both  declared  that  it  would  require  at  least  six  years  to 
build  only  two  locks.  (See  report  of  the  meetings  of  the 
congress,  page  5G9.) 

It  is  therefore  impossible  that  the  eight  locks  necessary 
for  the  Panama  Canal  be  manufactured  in  Franco,  trans- 
ported to  and  set  up  in  America  in  two  years  only. 

THIRD  IMPOSSIBILITY. 

A  third  impossibility,  and  not  the  least  important  in 
the  execution  of  the  Panama  canal,  consists  in  the  na- 
ture of  the  material  to  be  removed,  to  cross  the  moun- 
tainous region  of  the  Culebra.  The  ground  in  this 
district  is  either  extremely  hard  and  consequently  very 
difficult  of  extraction,  or  else  of  bad  quality,  and  ex- 
tremely given  to  falling  in.  The  latter  is  composed  of 
clay  and  sand  impregnated  with  water,  in  which  it  is 
impossible  to  cut  deep  trenches  without  provoking  for- 
midable land  slides,  against  which  science  has  not  as  yet 
found  an  efficacious  remedy.  (See  Bulletin,  May  16, 
1887,  page  1762,  downfall  910  metres  in  length,  and  page 
1764,  downfall  so  extensive  at  Obispo  that  the  fallen 
earth  could  not  be  removed  in  five  months.) 

That  is  an  insurmountable  obstacle  which  learned  and 
independent  engineers  did  not  fail  to  call  the  attention 
of  the  congress  to  in  1879,  but  of  which,  unfortunately, 
no  heed  was  taken. 

FOURTH  IMPOSSIBILITY. 

Bulletin,  October  15,  1883,  page  864:  "  In  winter,  the 
Chagres  carries  1600  cubic  metres  per  second,  which 
makes  it  a  river  nearly  equal  to  the  Seine." 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  263 

Bulletin,  November  1,  1883,  page  880:  *'The  Chagres 
carries  13  cubic  metres  per  second  in  summer,  and  it 
sometimes  reaches  1600  cubic  metres  in  winter.  In  this 
figure  I  do  not  include  all  the  secondary  tributaries. 

"  For  instance,  farther  dovvn  the  river,  the  Rio  Trini- 
dad gives  400  cubic  metres,  and  the  Gatuncillo  as  much. 
(Dingier,  chief  engineer  of  the  company)." 

This  river  Chagres,  which  runs  up  from  13  to  3000 
cubic  metres  per  second  and  consequently  acquires  two 
hundred  and  thirty  times  its  usual  volume  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days,  will  not  furnish  enough  water  in  summer 
to  supply  the  locks,  and  will  carry  everything  away  in 
winter.  To  offset  this  double  inconvenience,  the  com- 
pany spoke,  during  seven  years,  of  constructing  at  Gam- 
boa  an  immense  reservoir  of  1,000,000,000  cubic  metres; 
but  they  gave  up  this  project  in  1887,  recognizing  that 
this  artificial  lake  was  impracticable. 

THE  EIFFEL  CONTRACT. 

Extract  from  M.  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1887:  "These  reduced  excavations  being  materially 
assured,  we  entrusted  to  Mr.  Eiffel  ....  the  prepara- 
tion of  an  estimate  for  the  execution  of  the  works  of 
art." 

The  excavations  to  be  made,  still  amounting  to  the 
enormous  quantity  of  40,000,000  cubic  metres  at  least, 
are  not  at  all  assured,  as  has  been  seen  under  the  head- 
ing "  Impossibilities." 

Concerning  this  passage  of  M.  de  Lesseps'  letter,  it  is 
well  to  state  that,  contrary  to  what  many  newspapers 
have  published,  Mr.  Eiffel  has  only  contracted  to  exe- 
cute the  works  of  art  (bridges  and  locks),  estimated,  it 
is  said,  at  125,000,000  francs,  and  no  other  work,  such  as 
earthworks,  etc. 

Consequently  the  Eiffel  contract  in  no  way  guarantees 
the  completion  of  the  canal  for  February  3,  1890. 

Let  us  add  that  Messrs.  Couvreux  and  Hersent,  the 
well-known  contractors  who  had  at  the  start  signed  a 
formal  agreement  to  dig  the  whole  canal  at  the  contract 
price  of  512,000,000  francs,  did  not  do  it.     Why  expect 


264  FIVE  YEABS  AT  PANAMA. 

that  Mr.  Eiffel,  who  has  only  undertaken  to  supply  the 
gates  for  the  locks,  will  complete  the  whole  canal  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  company  really  desires  to 
keep  the  public  informed,  and  to  avoid  all  misunder- 
standing, it  will  hasten  to  publish  in  its  bulletins,  first, 
the  terms  of  the  Eiffel  contract,  then  the  exact  plans 
and  dimensions  of  its  lock-canal,  as  well  as  the  detailed 
specification  with  the  price  of  each  part  of  the  work, 
and  finally  the  amount  of  all  the  estimates  of  the  work 
still  to  be  performed,  as  it  has  already  done  so  many 
times  for  its  tide-level  canal. 

We  await  this  interesting  publication. 

In  order  to  obtain  from  the  government  the  authority 
to  raise  a  loan  of  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  million 
francs  in  lottery  bonds,  the  company  made  the  news- 
papers repeat  every  day  that  French  industries  were 
greatly  interested  in  the  continuation  of  the  work  on  the 
Panama  canal. 

Outside  of  the  furnishing  of  the  bridges  and  locks, 
which  will  amount,  it  is  said,  to  one  hundred  and 
tAventy-five  millions,  the  balance  of  the  loan  will  serve 
to  pay  a  few  excavations,  many  general  expenses  and 
the  interest,  which  will  soon  reach  one  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  per  annum. 

To  cause  the  French  saving  class  to  lose  five  hundred 
and  sixty-five  millions  more,  in  order  to  procure  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  millions  of  work  to  their  in- 
dustry, is  such  a  singular  idea  that  it  could  only  have 
started  in  the  oflice  of  the  company. 

Extract  from  F.  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1887.  Questions  put  by  the  company  to  the  consulting 
commission. 

(a)  Is  it  possible  to  establish,  in  the  central  mass,  a 
summit  pond  which  would  allow  of  the  continuation  of 
the  tide-level  canal  by  applying  the  dredging  process  to 
the  digging  of  this  part  ? 

(6)  Will  it  be  possible,  when  these  dispositions  are 
made,  to  open  the  maritime  communication  between  the 
two  oceans,  without  interrupting  the  work  of  deepening  ? 

At    a    full    sitting,     the    commission    unanimously 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  265 

ansivered  the  tivo  questions  put  to  them  in  the  affirma- 
tive. 

These  two  questions  and  the  answer,  accompanied  by 
the  names  of  Messrs.  Daubree,  the  Admiral  Jurien  de  la 
Graviere,  Jacquet,  Lalanne,  Pascal,  Voisin  Bey,  Ruelle, 
Laroche,  Larousse,  Boutan  and  Oppermann  made  a 
great  impression  upon  the  public ;  but  on  a  close  exami- 
nation, it  is  seen  that  they  are  not  serious  and  signify 
nothing  whatever. 

The  consulting  committee  does  unanimously  answer: 
Yes,  a  pond  can  be  established  in  the  central  mass,  to 
continue  dredging  the  tide-level  canal;  Yes,  it  will  be 
possible  to  open  the  canal  to  navigation  and  yet  con- 
tinue to  deepen  it. 

But  every  one  knew  that  for  eighteen  years  past  the 
Suez  Company  has  deepened  and  widened  its  canal  with- 
out impeding  navigation,  and  is  even  thinking  of  doub- 
ling its  present  proportions. 

It  was  therefore  unnecessary  to  disturb  for  a  single  mo- 
ment the  above  named  gentlemen,  and  to  make  the  400,- 
000  Panama  subscribers  wait  so  long,  to  give  them  such 
information  as  that. 

Here  are  the  only  and  real  questions  which  the  capital- 
ists ask  the  consulting  commission  to  answer  seriously 
and  without  delay : 

First,  Can  the  tide-level  canal  be  achieved  ? 

Second,  How  many  years  will  the  entire  completion  of 
the  tide-level  canal  require  ? 

Third,  How  much  will  this  canal  cost,  all  expenses  in- 
cluded ? 

Fourth,  When  will  the  provisional  lock-canal  be  com- 
pleted, and  how  much  will  it  cost  with  a  depth  of  nine 
metres  ? 

The  answers  to  these  four  questions  can  and  must  be 
short,  clear  and  to  the  point. 

We  hope  the  government  will  be  able  to  obtain  these 
answers  which  the  company  obstinately  refuses  to  give 
to  its  400,000  lenders.* 

*  Panama  and  Suez,  Paris. 


366  -^^^^  TEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

When  it  was  established,  the  company  Avas  to  achieve 
a  superb  tide-level  canal  for  six  hundred  millions,  then 
for  one  thousand  and  seventy  millions ;  it  now  proposes 
to  furnish  a  provisional  lock-canal  with  a  depth  of  4 
metres,  57  centimetres,  instead  of  9  metres,  for  the 
colossal  sum  of  one  thousand  and  six  hundred  and  fifty- 
four  millions. 

Let  us  now  see  what  the  company  still  thinks  of  lock- 
canals  : 

Bulletin,  November  15,  1879,  page  43:  ''  I  will  never 
give  my  adhesion,  (says  M.  de  Lesseps,)  on  account  of  the 
experience  with  the  Suez  Canal,  to  a  project  with  locks." 

Bulletin,  November  15,  1878,  page  46:  "The  Panama 
has  no  locks.  The  Nicaragua  has  many :  this  is  why  the 
intelligent  men  of  the  congress  of  Paris  adopted  the 
Panama." — (F.  de  Lesseps.) 

Mr.  Eiffel,  the  great  builder,  now  so  highly  praised 
by  the  company,  was  present  at  the  congress  and  voted 
against  the  intelligent  men. 

Bulletin,  December  15, 1879,  pages  58  and  59:  "  An  an- 
nual traffic  of  6,000,000  tons  is  only  possible  in  a  canal 
capable  of  allowing  fifty  ships  to  pass  in  one  day.  It  is 
this  necessity  which  caused  the  adoption,  for  the  pierc- 
ing of  Suez,  of  a  tide-level  canal  without  locks  .... 

"An  interoceanic  canal  with  a  single  obstacle  on  its 
line,  would  not  satisfy  a  traffic  of  6,000,000  tons." — (Mar- 
iu8  Fontane,  manager  of  the  Panama  Company.) 

How  can  the  company,  after  these  positive  statements, 
now  declare  that  it  Avill  admit  of  a  traffic  of  7,500,000 
tons  through  a  provisional  capiat  loith  locks  ? 

Bulletin,  February  1,  1880,  page  86:  "M.  de  Lesseps 
declares  that  he  is  in  favor  of  a  tide-level  canal  as 
adopted  by  the  Paris  congress ;  it  is  the  only  practicable 
project,  says  he,  and  I  will  execute  it. " 

According  to  F.  de  Lesseps,  a  provisional  lock-canal 
will  therefore  be  impracticable. 

Bulletin,  April  1,  1886,  page  122:  "The  second  diffi- 
culty has  also  disappeared.  There  is  not  a  man,  jealous 
of  his  dignity  as  engineer,  sailor  or  economist,  who 
would  now  dare  say  that  a  canal  with  obstacles  is  desir- 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  267 

able. " — (Marius  Fontane,  manager  of  the  Panama  Com- 
pany.) 

Contrary  to  this  opinion,  Mr.  Eiffel,  whom  the  com- 
pany now  praises  so  highly,  was  present  at  the  congress 
and  declared  that  a  lock-canal  was  preferable  to  a  tide- 
level  one. 

Bulletin,  May  1,  1880,  page  156:  "M.  de  Lesseps  de- 
clares that  a  canal  without  obstacles  is  the  only  one  that 
can  accommodate  ocean  vessels  and  the  present  great 
navigation." 

It  must  be  concluded  from  this  that  a  temporary  canal 
with  obstacles,  that  is  to  say  locks,  will  not  accommodate 
the  great  navigation. 

Bulletin,  May  15,  1880,  page  161:  "There are  no  locks," 
says  M.  de  Lesseps,  "  that  cope  at  the  present  time  with 
the  transit  of  the  vessels  which  go  through  Suez." 

It  is  necessary  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  when 
M.  de  Lesseps  spoke  in  these  terms  the  traffic  of  Suez 
only  amounted  to  3,057,421  tons.  If  a  completed  lock- 
canal  9  metres  deep  cannot,  according  to  M.  de  Lesseps 
in  1880,  prove  sufficient  for  a  traffic  of  3,000,000  tons, 
how  can  7,500,000  tons  be  carried  through  Panama  with 
a  provisional  canal  4  metres,  57  centimetres  deep,  and 
with  locks  ? 

Bulletin,  January  1,  1881,  page  298:  "It  is  so  super- 
abundantly demonstrated  by  all  studies,  that  lock-canals 
cannot  accommodate  large  ships  that  it  is  unnecessary 
for  us  to  return  to  this  subject." 

Bulletin,  November  1,  1881,  page  461:  "The  demon- 
stration having  been  made  that  a  canal  with  obstacles, 
be  it  but  a  single  lock,  could  not  give  passage  to  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  ships  to  remunerate  the  capital  em- 
ployed in  its  construction." 

Bulletin,  April  15,  1885,  page  1170:  "A  single  lock  out 
of  order  would  be  sufficient  to  arrest  all  navigation  for 
two  months." 

Bulletin,  January  1,  1886,  page  1369:  "I  answered 
them  that  I  could  not  give  my  attention  to  a  project  for 
a  lock-canal,  as  I  considered  this  system  absolutely  con- 
trary to  the  principles  of  maritime  communication  be- 


S68  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

tween  two  seas." — (F.  de  Lesseps  to  the  Geographical 
Society.) 

Report  of  the  meetings  of  the  congress  of  1879,  page 
649:  "M.  Marius  Fontane,  manager  of  the  Panama 
Company :  I  vote  yes,  because  the  canal  with  a  constant 
level  is  the  only  one  that  can  assure  a  constant  revenue 
for  the  capital  engaged  in  the  enterprise." 

If  the  lock-canal  estimated  at  five  hundred  and  seventy 
million  francs  by  the  congress  could  not  pay,  is  it 
evident  that  the  canal  now  proposed  by  the  company,  a 
partial  canal  4  metres  57  centimetres  deep,  with  many 
locks  and  costing  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-four 
millions  will  prove  a  disastrous  affair? 

To  sum  up,  M.  de  Lesseps  and  his  advisers  promised 
us  a  magnificent  tide-level  canal  nine  metres  deep,  for 
six  hundred  millions.  They  have  declared,  many  and 
many  a  time,  that  a  lock-canal  entirely  achieved,  was 
absolutely  contrary  to  the  principles  of  maritime  navi- 
gation, that  it  would  not  pay  its  shareholders  and  that  it 
would  bo  impracticable. 

After  squandering  a  thousand  millions  in  unnecessary 
work,  these  same  men  now  come  forward  and  say  to 
the  French  government:  Authorize  us  to  borrow  five 
hundred  and  sixty-five  millions  more,  on  lottery  bonds, 
and  we  will  endeavor  to  furnish,  for  the  one  thousand, 
six  hundred  and  fifty-four  millions  received  by  us  (see 
debts  of  the  company),  a  temporary  lock-canal  4  metres 
57  centimetres  in  depth,  instead  of  the  9  metre  tide-level 
canal  which  we  promised  to  the  whole  world,  during 
eight  years. 

From  the  above  we  must  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  thousand  millions  spent  up  to  this  date  have 
been  badly  employed  and  that  they  are  entirely  lost  to 
the  French  economizers. 

Extract  from  M.  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1887:  "  7,500.000  tons  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  francs." 

In  the  Suez  Canal,  which  is  at  tide-level,  M.  de  Lesseps, 
notwithstanding  the  continual  protests  of  the  share- 
holders and  of  the  defence  committee,  wants  to  reduce 
to  five  francs  per  ton  the  ten  francs  rate  stipulated  in 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  269 

the  act  of  concession,  under  the  pretext  that  this  rate  is 
too  high;  but  in  the  Panama  canal,  which  will  be 
uafinisheJ,  provisional  and  with  locks,  with  a  depth  of 
only  4  metres  57  centimetres,  the  same  M.  de  Lesseps 
intends  to  apply  a  rate  of  fifteen  francs. 

How  does  the  Suez  management,  which  is  the  same 
for  Panama,  find  bad  for  the  Egyptian  canal  that  which 
is  good  for  the  American  one? 

Strange  mystery! 

Extract  from  M.  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1837:  "In  its  estimate  of  the  total  expenses,  the  inter- 
national congress  had  calculated  that  the  loans  would 
cost  five  per  cent." 

The  company  should  not  be  astonished  at  having  to 
pay  a  high  price  for  the  money  it  barrows,  as  until 
1883  it  promised  to  supply  in  1838  and  even  in  1887  a 
tide-level  canal  completely  finished  for  six  hundred 
millions,  all  expenses  included. 

As  the  affair  appeared  a  good  one,  at  that  price,  the 
public  gladly  loaned  its  money  at  five  per  cent. 

But,  from  1885,  the  company  asks  one  thousand  and 
seventy  millions  for  the  same  canal.  The  investment 
becoming  doubtful,  the  capitalists  asked  ten  per  cent. 

The  company  now  speaks  of  executing  a  partial,  pro- 
visional, impracticable  lock-canal  that  will  not  pay,  the 
cost  of  which  will  reach  the  fabulous  amount  of  one 
thousand,  six  hundred  and  fifty-four  millions  at  least. 

Under  such  conditions,  the  affair  becoming  disastrous, 
no  one  will  want  to  give  a  cent  and  it  will  not  be  more 
than  fair. 

Tha  most  surprising  part  of  all  this  is  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  company. 

Extract  from  M.  F.  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1837: 

"  Grand  total  of  the  cost  of  the  canal  on  the  opening 
day  in  1800  everything  included:  one  thousand,  five 
hundred  million  francs." 

The  following  are  the  sums  received: 


270  ^^"^^  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

600,000  shares  at        500  francs,  300,000,000  fr. 


250,000  5  pel 

cent. 

bonds   " 

437.50  " 

109,375,000  fr. 

600,000  3 

i  ( 

"        " 

285 

171,000,000  fr 

477,000  4 

u 

ti        (1 

333 

158,969,871  fr. 

458,802  6 

(t 

K                  t( 

450 

206,460,900  fr 

256,887  6 

u 

((                  (1 

440 

113,910,280  fr 

Proceeds  of  tempo 

rary  investments  and 

revenue 

of  the  railroad, 

at  least 

30,000,000  fr 

Total 1,089,716,051  fr. 

Loan  now  solicited 565,000,000  fr. 

Grand  total 1,654,716,051  fr. 

This  total  of  expenses  made  or  to  be  made,  will  corre- 
spond to  a  reimbursable  capital  of  about  two  thousand, 
five  hundred  millions. 

The  company  is  therefore  making  a  great  mistake  in 
giving  only  one  thousand,  five  hundred  millions. 

MAXIMUM    RECEIPTS    AND    MINIMUM    EXPENSES    AFTER    THE 
OPENING  OP  THE  LOCK-CANAL. 

Extract  from  the  letter  of  November  15,  1887. 

"  The  receipts  alone  from  the  toll  for  transit  of  the 
7,500,000  tons:  112,500,000 /rancs." 

As  was  already  seen  in  the  Bulletin  of  May  15,  1880, 
page  161,  a  lock-canal,  even  a  definitive  one,  would 
prove  insufficient  for  a  transit  of  three  million  tons ;  and, 
supposing  that,  contrary  to  probabilities,  the  Panama 
managers  (who  are  at  the  same  time  the  Suez  managers), 
maintain  the  toll  at  fifteen  francs  at  Panama,  whilst 
insisting  upon  reducing  it  to  five  francs  at  Suez,  and  ob- 
tain the  following  figures : 

RECEIPTS. 
A  maximum  of  3,000,000  tons  at  15  francs 45,000,000  fr. 


EXPENSES. 

Management,  as  per  letter  of  Nov.  15,  1887 5,000,000  fr. 

Unforeseen  expenses 4,000,000  f r. 


Carried  forward 9,000,000  fr. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  271 

Brought  forward 9,000,000  fr. 

Maintenance,  according  to  the  congress 6,500,000  fr. 

5  per  cent,  of  tlie  gross  receipts  to  tlie  Colombian 

government 2,250,000  fr. 

Commissions 3,000,000  fr. 

Interest  on  the  600,000  shares 15,000,000  fr. 

Interest  on  5  per  cent,  bonds 6,227,000  fr. 

Sinking  Fund 180,500  fr. 

Interest  on  4  per  cent,  bonds 7,314,620  fr. 

Sinking  Fund 422,500  f r. 

Interest  on  3  per  cent,  bonds 8,975,580  Ir. 

Sinking  Fund 1,104,500  fr. 

Interest  on  5  per  cent,  bonds,  1st  series 13,764,406  fr. 

Sinking  Fund 6,000,000  fr. 

Interest  on  6  per  cent,  bonds,  2d  series 7,766,610  fr. 

Sinking  Fund 3,000,000  fr. 

Interest  and  Sinking  Fund  of  the  565,000,000  loan 

now  applied  for 56,500,000  fr. 

Total  of  expenses,  interest  and  sinking  fund,    147,005,716  fr. 

These  are  exact,  official  and  undeniable  figures,  where- 
as those  given  by  the  company  are  incorrect  and  fanci- 
ful. For  instance,  the  company  counts  upon  a  commis- 
sion of  6  per  cent,  for  the  handling  of  its  securities, 
whereas  it  costs  from  8  to  10  per  cent. 

On  the  other  hand,  any  discussion  at  the  present  time 
concerning  the  receipts  is  a  waste  of  time,  as  the  canal, 
with  only  a  depth  of  4  metres,  57  centimetres  as  pro- 
jected, will  not  allow  of  the  passage  of  a  single  ship. 
(See  estimated  traffic.)  Therefore,  no  depth,  no  traffic, 
no  receipts,  no  revenue,  but  on  the  ether  hand  the  147,- 
000,000  francs  of  expenses  detailed  above  wOl  have  to  be 
paid  every  year. 

SINGULAR  PRETENSIONS  OF  M.    DE  LESSEPS. 

Extract  from  M.  de  Lesseps'  letter  of  November  15, 
1887: 

''It  now  rests  entirely  upon  the  government  of  the 
Republic  .  ...  to  definitely  assure  the  performance  of 
our  programme. " 


272  FIVE  TEAES  AT  PANAMA. 

To  speak  as  above,  has  the  company  forgotten  its  bold 
and  manly  declarations  of  former  times?  Here  are  some 
of  them: 

Bulletin,  March  15,  1880,  page  113:  M.  F.  de  Lesseps 
declared  that  the  canal  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  can 
and  should  be  constructed,  and  he  added  that  he  staked 
his  reputation,  past  and  future,  on  the  success  of  the 
enterprise. — (M.  de  Lesseps  to  the  Geographical  Society 
of  New  York.) 

Bulletin,  June  15,  1880,  page  193:  "M.  F.  de  Lesseps 
declared  that  he  had  accepted  the  direction  of  the  cut- 
ting of  the  Isthmus,  but  that  he  had  assumed  the  entire 
responsibility,  as  becomes  a  general-in-chief." 

"  When  I  was  still  a  yoimg  man  in  Egypt,  that  great 
man  Mehemet  Ali,  gave  me  this  advice  which  I  have 
always  followed :  '  M.  de  Lesseps,  remember  that  when 
two  men  put  themselves  at  the  head  of  an  enterprise, 
there  is  always  one  too  maiiy.'"^ — (F.  de  Lesseps  at 
Amiens.) 

Bidletin,  April  15,  1885,  page  1190:  "It  must  be  said 
that  the  canal  is  finished." — (Letter  from  Victor  de 
Lesseps  to  his  father,  F.  de  Lesseps.) 

Bulletin,  July  15,  1886,  page  1558:  "I  am  put  off.  I 
accept  no  adjournment.  Faithful  to  my  past,  when  per- 
sons endeavor  to  stop  me,  I  go  straight  ahead,  certainly 
not  alone,  but  with  350,000  Frenchmen  sharing  my 
patriotic  confidence." — (Letter  from  F.  de  Lesseps  to  the 
shareholdex's  and  correspondents  of  the  company,  after 
the  jjetition  made  in  1885  to  the  Government  for  permis- 
sion to  raise  a  loan  of  six  hundred  millions  on  lottery 
bonds,  which  petition  was  withdrawn  because  the  com- 
pany refused  to  exhibit  its  contracts.) 

From  all  the  citations  which  appear  in  this  work,  it  is 
evident  that  the  company  is  alone  obliged  to  finish  the 
canal  and  not  the  Government. 

There  yet  remain  over  100,000,000  cubic  metres  to 
remove,  the  derivation  ports  and  locks  to  make.  In  a 
word  sufficient  for  at  least  three  thousand  million  francs 
of  work. 


Firi^  YSARS  AT  PANAMA.  273 

CONTRACTORS. 

Extract  from  a  letter  of  date  November  15,  1887  :  "I 
hold  subject  to  your  orders  all  the  documents  and  con- 
tracts. " 

Bulletin,  February  1,  1881,  page  315:  "Acceptation  by 
Messrs.  Couvreux  and  Hersent  of  the  contract  for  the 
total  work  on  a  revised  specification  of  five  hundred  and 
twelve  millions. — (General  Meeting,  January  31,  1881.) 

Letter  from  F.  de  Lesseps  to  the  Minister  of  the  Inte- 
rior, dated  May  27,  1885 : 

"  The  installation  along  the  whole  line,  from  one  ocean 
to  the  other,  of  twenty  contractors  cutting  the  Isthmus 
at  their  risk  and  peril." 

Bulletin,  August  1,  1885,  page  1259:  "The  contracts 
signed  with  two  contractors  who  have  undertaken  to 
hand  over  a  corai^leted  canal,  cut  to  its  floor,  enable  us  to 
give  the  expense  of  finishing  the  work." — (Meeting  of 
July  29,  1885.) 

All  the  bulletins  are  full  of  names  of  many  contrac- 
tors, but  it  is  unnecessary  to  cite  them  all. 

On  May  27,  1885,  the  company  which  refused  to  show 
its  contracts,  now  places  them  at  the  disposal  of  the 
ministers. 

If  the  three  series  of  contractors  cited  above  had  kept 
all  their  engagements,  the  company  would  have  been 
able  to  make  three  canals  instead  of  one. 

Bulletin,  September  1,  1879:  Circvilar  to  the  corre- 
spondents of  the  Universal  Canal  Company,  to  the 
founders  and  the  subscribers:  "The  issue  of  800,000 
shares  which  took  place  in  Europe  and  America  on  April 
7th  and  8th,  1879,  has  not  been  covered.  .  .  .  The  argu- 
ments of  the  opposition  can  be  svmimed  up  as  follows : 
on  one  hand  figures  were  presented  of  exaggerated  ex- 
penses and  of  insufficient  receipts  in  order  to  show  that 
the  speculation  would  be  a  bad  one.  ...  To  the  first 
argument,  the  able  contractor,  Mr.  Couvreux,  and  his 
partners,  ....  have  agreed  to  take  charge  of  its  execu- 
tion at  the  company's  orders  or  on  contract." — (F.  de 
Lesseps.) 
18 


274  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

Why  did  the  company  cancel  this  contract,  signed 
with  rich  contractors,  and  which  absolutely  guaranteed 
the  entire  execution  of  the  canal  for  five  hundred  and 
twelve  millions,  whether  the  conti'acting  firm  gained  or 
lost,  as  the  report  informed  the  meeting  on  January  31, 
1888? 

Why  did  it,  furthermore,  pay  these  contractors  an 
indemnity  of  1,200,000  francs  ? 

That  is  the  question ! 

It  is  evident  that  these  contracts  were  not  of  a  serious 
nature  since  the  canal  is  not  made,  although  not  six  hun- 
dred millions  but  a  thousand  millions  have  been  already 
spent. 

Report  of  the  meetings  of  the  congress  of  1879,  page 
639:  "  At  the  preceding  sessions,  our  honorable  president 
(M.  F.  de  Lesseps)  said  that,  in  this  affair,  the  assistance 
of  the  government  should  not  be  resorted  to  and  that  we 
must  call  on  the  public  only." 

Bulletin,  February  15,  1881,  page  321:  "The  French 
government  has  declared  over  and  over  again  that, 
officially,  France  has  no  interest  in  the  canal." 

Bulletin,  August  1,  1882:  "The  American  public  was 
pleased  to  learn  that  in  the  same  report,  M.  de  Lesseps 
reiterated  the  assurance  that  the  company  had  never 
asked  for  the  assistance  of  the  French  government,  as 
had  been  falsely  annouyiced,  and  which  would  have 
wounded  the  feelings  of  the  Americans."" 

Bulletin,  July  17,  1884:  ''  For  my  part,  I  desire  to  de- 
clare in  the  most  positive  manner  that  the  Panama 
Canal  Company  will  carry  on  and  finish  its  ivork  with- 
out the  assistance  of  any  government  ivhafsoever,  this  be- 
ing  a  purely  private  enterprise.''' — (F.  de  Lesseps.) 

After  making  such  formal  and  solemn  pledges,  how 
can  the  company  now  ask  the  assistance  of  the  French 
government  ? 

Bulletin,  April  1,  1880,  page  137:  Message  of  Mr. 
Hayes,  President  of  the  United  States:  "The  policy  of 
this  country  is  for  a  canal  under  American  control. 
The  United  States  could  not  consent  to  leave  this  control 
to  any  European  power.  .  .  .    No  European  power  can 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  275 

step  in  for  such  protection  tuithout  adopting  measures 
which  the  United  States  would  consider  totally  inadmis- 
sible:' 

Bulletin,  November  1,  1881,  page  457:  Circular  of 
Mr.  Blaine,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United 
States : 

' '  The  United  States  would  consider  an  unwarrantable 
interference  any  step  taken  by  Eux'opean  governments 
with  a  view  of  giving  a  supplementary  guarantee  to  an 
enterprise  in  which  the  local  and  general  interests  of 
America  must  take,  percedence  over  those  of  all  other 
countries." 

Bulletin,  December  1,  1881,  page  479:  Speech  of  Mr. 
G.  Maney,  Minister  of  the  United  States  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States  of  Colombia:  "America  for  the 
Americans." 

Bulletin,  December  15,  1881,  page  482:  Message  of 
President  Arthur: 

"  Meanwhile,  the  United  States  of  Colombia  asked  the 
European  powers  to  guarantee  on  their  part  the  neutral- 
ity of  the  canal,  which  was  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
rights  of  America,  which  is  the  sole  warranter  of 
the  integrity  of  Colombia  and  of  the  canal.  .  .  . 

"  My  predecessor  had  thought  it  his  duty  to  submit  to 
the  European  powers  the  reasons  which  rendered  our 
guarantee  indispensable,  for  which  reason  the  inter- 
position of  any  foreign  guarantee  whatsoever  might  be 
regarded  as  a  superfluous  and  unfriendly  act." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  insist  upon  the  importance  of 
these  citations.  It  is  evident  that  any  intervention 
whatever  in  the  affairs  of  the  company  would  surely 
bring  about  complications  with  the  United  States  of 
America. 

Extract  from  the  letter  of  November  15,  1887:  "In 
view  of  the  unqualified  and  stubborn  animosity  of  adver- 
saries, whom  the  liberality  of  our  laws  protect.  ..." 

The  complaints  of  the  company  are  absolutely  ground- 
less, but  they  prove  that  it  needs  to  excuse  its  incapacity 
by  accusing  somebody. 

Where  are  these  threatening  opponents  the  company 


276  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

speaks  of,  and  how  can  it  complain  after  publishing  the 
following  words  in  the  Bulletin,  of  September  15,  1884, 
page  1067? 

"I  love  opposition.  Adversaries  are  monitors  who 
cost  nothing." — (Ferdinand  de  Lesseps.) 

Now,  although  the  company  has  devoured  a  thousand 
miUions  without  digging  tlie  proposed  canal,  not  a  single 
important  paper  attacks  it;  it  is  true  that  the  press  has 
nearly  ceased  praising  and  applauding,  but  this  silence 
alone  frightens  the  company. 

The  company  begins  to  fear  the  complaints  and  re- 
criminations of  its  400,000  unfortunate  subscribers. 

It  is  the  immense  responsibility  assumed  during  the 
last  eight  years  which  gives  it  the  mania  of  persecution. 

At  the  general  meetings,  the  company  does  not  allow 
the  making  of  a  single  remark,  and  any  shareholder 
who  is  daring  enough  to  stammer  a  word  is  immediately 
hooted  and  hustled  like  a  traitor. 

At  the  congress  of  1879,  the  Americans,  who  are  a 
practical  jjeople,  declared  that  after  ten  years  of  studies 
on  the  Isthmus,  they  had  recognized  that  a  tide-level  canal 
between  Colon  and  Panama  was  impracticable. 

At  the  same  congress,  nearly  all  the  engineers,  among 
them  Mr.  Levalley,  a  friend  of  M.  De  Lesseps,  and  Mr. 
Eiffel,  the  celebrated  contractor,  were  opposed  to  a  tide- 
level  canal,  frightened  as  they  were  by  the  unconquer- 
able difficulties,  such  as  the  deep  cutting  of  the  Culebra, 
the  floodings  of  the  uncontrollable  Chagres  River,  the 
bottomless  marshes  of  Colon  and  the  unhealthfulness 
of  the  climate. 

The  company  disregarded  these  wise  counsels,  emanat- 
ing from  competent  men,  and  now  it  accuses  invisible 
enemies  so  as  not  to  admit  that  it  has  failed. 

Let  it  be  well  understood  that  the  real  and  only  im- 
placable enemy  of  the  enterprise  is  the  company  it- 
self, which  has  always  promised  much  but  has  never 
done  anything. 

Letter  of  November  15,  1887. 

On  the  whole,  the  letter  written  on  November  15,  1887, 
by  M.  F.  de  Lesseps,  and  addressed  to  the  Prime  Minis- 


PIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  277 

ter,  is  cleverly  written;  but  it  is  a  jumble  of  reticences, 
of  obscure  phrases  and  erroneous  figures  which  throw  no 
light  upon  the  Panama  canal,  and  which  cannot  for  a 
moment  stand  discussion. 

It  is  not  upon  such  data  that  a  government  can 
authorize  a  company  that  has  already  spent  so  much 
money,  to  borrow  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  millions 
more. 

Usually,  one  says:  the  past  speaks  for  the  future. 
The  company  has  squandered  a  thousand  millions  in 
unnecessary  work ;  it  will  peaceably  continue  to  borrow 
much  and  to  perform  little  and  await  a  European  com- 
plication or  some  unforeseen  event,  such,  for  instance,  as 
the  death  of  its  president,  M.  de  Lesseps. 

The  Colombian  government  has  gratuitously  given 
500,000  hectares*  of  ground  to  the  company,  which 
makes  a  great  show  of  this  fact,  whenever  it  needs 
money. 

Then  how  much  are  the  500,000  hectares  of  ground 
worth,  of  which  the  company  speaks  so  much  ? 

The  U-nited  States  of  Colombia  cover  an  area  of  133,000,- 
000  hectares,  or  about  three  times  the  surface  of  France. 
The  population  amounts  to  about  3,000,000  inhabitants, 
who  cultivate  less  than  3,000,000  hectares. 

The  130.000,000  uncultivated  hectares  are  called  free 
lands,  which  means,  lands  at  the  disposal  of  the  first  oc- 
cupier who  is  willing  to  have  them  cultivated,  and  to 
whom,  according  to  law,  they  regularly  belong  after  five 
years.  Therefore,  any  one  can  take  possession  of  the 
said  130,000,000  hectares,  and  the  government  will  even 
offer,  as  a  bonus,  to  pay  his  travelling  expenses  from 
Colon  or  Panama  to  his  destination.  (For  further  in- 
formation, read  the  Bulletin  of  September  15,  1880,  page 
244  and  following  pages.) 

The  company's  500,000  hectares  are  therefore  worth 
absolutely  nothing. 

"Last  year  we  asked  why  the  company  gave  one  mill- 


*  One  hectare  equals  2.471143  acres. 


378  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

ion  five  hundred  thousand  francs  every  year  to  an 
American  committee. 

' '  Since  the  company  continues  to  remain  silent,  we 
shall  mform  our  readers.  We  have  discovered  (Bul- 
letin, Februai-y  1,  1881,  page  316),  that  the  New  York 
Committee  represented  the  interests  of  the  company  in 
the  United  States  of  America,  in  all  that  concerns  the 
neutrality  of  the  canal. 

"The  report  presented  to  the  second  general  meeting 
{Bulletin  of  March  4,  1881),  further  informed  us  that 
this  famous  committee  costs  the  company  twelve  million 
francs,  paid  in  seven  installments.  Mr.  Thompson,  ex- 
Secretary  of  the  United  States  Navy,  is  president  of  the 
said  committee. 

"It  is  really  distressing  to  think  that  this  enormous 
sum,  amassed  with  so  much  trouble  by  thousands  of 
Frenchmen,  should  be  given  to  four  or  five  Americans 
for  the  performance  of  such  little  work. 

"At  the  inventory  of  June,  1884,  the  company  made  an 
entry  of  ten  million,  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  thou- 
sand, eight  hundred  and  forty-one  francs  commis- 
sions for  the  annual  handling  of  the  securities.  In  1885, 
a  sum  nearly  equal  appears  in  the  accounts. 

' '  In  May,  1887,  we  protested  against  this  exorbitant  ex- 
pense, and  in  the  following  statement  presented  at  the 
meeting  of  July  21  last,  these  expenses  suddenly  fell  to 
two  million,  eight  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-one  francs,  although  the  num- 
ber of  securities  had  been  nearly  doubled."* 

It  is  evident  that  criticism  is  good,  when  it  can  cause 
a  saving  of  about  seven  millions  a  year  on  one  item 
alone. 

At  the  statement  presented  to  the  meeting  of  July 
21,  1887,  the  company  estimates  the  value  of  its  build- 
ing, No.  46  Rue  Caumartin,  at  one  million,  eight  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  thousand,  six  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  francs,  and,  contrary  to  general  piinciples,  the 
older  the    building   gets    and    the    more    it    becomes 


Suez  and  Panama,  Paria. 


FIVE  TEAMS  AT  PANAMA.  279 

deteriorated,  the  greater  the  price  set  upon  it  by  the  com- 
pany.    (See  this  extraordinary  fact  on  the  statements.) 

Shareholders!  Go,  see,  appraise,  and  tell  me  whether 
that  dirty,  narrow,  low  hovel,  built  of  bad  stone,  is 
worth  two  millions.  This  structure,  pompously  called 
"mansion,"  has  no  value.  The  ground  would  sell  for 
hardly  a  quarter  of  the  estimated  amount,  because  it  is 
narrow  (16  metres  front)  and  all  in  depth. 

That,  good  capitalists,  is  the  way  in  which  the  com- 
pany throws  your  savings  to  the  winds.  On  seeing  such 
prodigalities,  one  immediately  recognizes  that  the  man- 
agers do  not  pay  for  their  extravagance  out  of  their  own 
pockets. 

The  intelligent  public  gazes  calmly  at  the  inordinate 
variations  in  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  Panama  securities. 
It  is  certainly  not  the  passionate  speculation  which 
exists  on  these  securities  which  will  finish  the  canal. 
The  announcement  of  the  actual  excavation  of  four  to 
five  million  cubic  metres  per  month  would  be  of  more 
value  to  the  real  shareholders  than  a  rise  of  100  francs 
per  share  in  a  single  day. 


The  shares  issued  at: 

500  francs  are  worth 

320, 

loss 

ISOfr 

The  bonds 

S%  issued  at  285  fr.  are  worth 

no, 

loss 

115  fr 

4%  issued  at  3:13  fr.  are  worth 

200, 

loss 

13:1  fr 

0%  issued  at  437  fr.  are  worth      280,      loss      157  fr. 
G/o  issued  at  450  fr.  are  worth      370,      loss        83  fr. 

Tliis  is  the  result  of  the  vain  promises  of  M.  de  Les- 
seps. 

While  the  Panama  shareholders  and  bondholders  are 
mentally  speculating  day  and  night  whether  the  canni 
will  be  accomplished  or  not,  the  fortunate  organizers 
spend  the  time  counting  the  millions  they  have  realized 
on  the  affair. 

As  a  fact,  these  gentlemen  have  probably  received  at 
least  fifty-four  millions  from  the  9,000  parts  of  founders 
ehares  which  they  must  have  sold  at  a  minimum  aver- 
age of  6,000  francs  each,  and  this  without  disbursing  a 


380  FIVE  YEAliS  AT  PANAMA. 

cent,  seeing  that  the  company  paid  all  their  expenses 
and  advances  estimated  at  two  millions.  (See  second 
general  meeting,  March  3,  1881.) 

Some  persons  pretend  that  France  will  lose  its  prestige 
in  America  if  the  Panama  canal  is  not  completed.  This 
theory  may  lead  one  very  far.  If  the  State  were  obliged 
to  see  to  the  favorable  accomplishment  of  the  enterprises 
entered  into  abroad  by  its  citizens,  the  whole  capital  of 
the  country  would  prove  insufficient.  No,  fortunately, 
the  prestige  of  France  is  not  bound  to  the  very  uncertain 
fortunes  of  a  private  corporation  like  that  of  the  Panama 
canal. 

In  this  purely  private  affair,  M.  de  Lesseps,  his  board 
of  directors  and  his  consulting  commission,  who  prom- 
ised to  establish  a  tide-level  canal  for  six  hundred  mill- 
ions, then  for  one  thousand  and  seventy  millions,  will 
be  the  only  ones  that  will  have  to  render  accounts  to  the 
400,000  fanatics  who  will  have  followed  them  blindly. 

If  the  government  authorizes  a  first  issue  of  lottery 
bonds,  it  will  be  caught  as  in  a  cog  ivheel,  and  loill  be 
forced  to  complete  the  canal,  cost  what  it  may. 

After  spending  the  first  six  hundred  millions,  it  would 
have  been  preferable  to  stop  there ;  the  company  willed 
otherwise.  It  is  yet  better  to  lose  a  thousand  millions 
than  two  or  three  thousand  millions. 

This  is  the  truth. 

La  Estrella  de  Panama,  a  newspaper  often  mentioned 
in  the  company's  Bulletins  published,  on  November  5th, 
last,  a  report  presented  in  1887  to  the  Colombian  Minis- 
ter of  Finance  by  Mr.  Nicolas  Tanco  Armero,  inspector 
of  the  Panama  Eailroad  and  agent  of  the  Colombian  gov- 
ernment, to  the  Universal  Tnteroceanic  Canal  Company. 
This  report  confirms  what  "u'^e  have  said,  in  every 
respect,  and  is  even  more  pessimistic  than  ourselves. 
Here  are  a  few  extracts  from  it : 

"  The  total  excavations  to  make  for  the  canal  and  the 
derivations  amounted  to  161.000,000  cubic  metres,  and 
127,000,000  cubic  metres  still  remained  undone  in  August 
last  ....  It  may  be  assured  that  until  now  eight- 
tenths  of  the  extractions  were  vegetable  earth  ....    At 


FIVE  YEAES  AT  PANAMA.  281 

Colon  and  Gatun  there  are  only  calcareous  deposits, 
brought  there  by  the  Chagres  Eiver,  but  the  Mamei, 
Gorgona,  Corrozal  and  Paraiso  sections  are  of  rocky 
formation  and  tlie  Culebra  Mountain  is  hard  rock  .... 
According  to  the  specifications  of  an  engineer,  it  will 
cost  four  hundred  and  seventy-one  millions  to  regulate 
the  Chagres  River,  including  the  Gamboa  dam,  and  four 
hundred  and  seventy-one  millions  to  remove  the  127,000,- 
000  cubic  metres,  making  a  total  of  over  four  thousand 
millions  ....  The  truth  is  that  all  the  work-yards  are 
nearly  deserted  ....  Let  not  the  company  say  that 
funds  have  been  wanting,  for  it  has  been  amply  sup- 
plied, but  it  has  not  used  them  properly  ....  At  pres- 
ent, no  one  can  form  an  idea,  however  remote,  of  the 
date  upon  which  the  canal  will  be  terminated  .... 
The  Canal  Company  paid  twelve  hundred  and  fifty 
francs  for  each  share  of  the  railroad,  when  these  shares 
were  quoted  at  barely  four  hundred  francs  ....  The 
Railroad  Company  evidently  made  sixty-eight  millions 
there,  of  which  half  should  belong  to  the  United  States 
of  Colombia,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  concession; 
but,  up  to  now,  the  government  has  not  received  a  cent. 
....  The  Canal  Company  should  pay  this  amount 
according  to  the  deed  of  concession. 

"Equity  and  justice  are  universal  laws  or  principles, 
and,  sooner  or  later,  one  company  or  another  will  have 
to  satisfy  this  sacred  obligation  to  our  government  .... 
The  financial  situation  of  the  enterprise  is  extremely 
serious,  embarrassing  and  alarming  ....  One  thing  is 
evident,  and  that  is  that,  with  the  system  which  has  been 
followed  and  the  manner  in  which  the  work  progresses, 
the  canal  will  not  be  completed  in  ten  years  ....  even 
admitting  the  elimination  of  very  necessary  work  and 
the  construction  of  a  canal  with  sluices  and  dams  .... 
it  is  certain  that  the  canal  will  not  be  opened  even  in 
1892,  the  year  in  which  the  conces.non  ceases,  and  the 
government  should  be  prepared  for  this  contingency.'''' 

This  report  has  been  reproduced  by  the  Neio  York 
Herald  and  many  other  foreign  papers.  Why  does  the 
French  Press,  with   the   exception  of  the  Economiste 


282  FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

Frangais  of  December  3d  last,  keep  silent  regarding  this 
crushing  document,  to  which  the  company  must  reply 
without  delay  ? 

On  May  27,  1885,  the  Panama  Canal  Company  asked, 
from  the  French  government,  permission  to  borrow  six 
hundred  millions  on  lottery  bonds.  This  petition  was 
not  presented  to  the  House  of  Deputies  until  June,  1886, 
when  a  commission  of  eleven  members  was  appointed ; 
ten  of  them  opposed  to  granting  the  requested  authori- 
zation. 

At  that  time,  the  Honorable  M.  Sadi  Carnot,  Minister 
of  Finance,  being  entirely  opposed  to  the  company's 
request,  refused  to  support  it,  as  can  be  seen  by  his 
declaration  to  the  commission  (see  the  Temps  of  July  4, 
1886).  "In  reply  to  the  formal  questions  of  various 
members  of  the  commission,  M.  Sadi  Carnot  declared 
that  for  his  part,  he  would  not  go  to  the  tribune  to 
support  the  projected  laiv,  because  it  would  give  the 
affair  a  guarantee  which  it  should  not  receive.'''' 

"M.  Salis  then  asked  why,  in  such  case,  the  commis- 
sion should  assume  a  responsibility  which  the  govern- 
ment refuses  to  assume. 

"In  its  letter  of  May  27,  1885,  to  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  the  company  promised  to  complete  a  tide-level 
canal  with  a  loan  of  six  hundred  millions  of  lottery 
bonds. 

"  After  squandering  nearl}-  five  hundred  millions  since 
then,  the  company  asks  for  five  hundred  and  sixty-five 
millions  moret  of urnish  a  temporary  lock-canal,  four  and 
a  half  metres  deep,  instead  of  nine  metres. 

"  We  feel  satisfied  that  M.  Sadi  Carnot,  President  of 
the  Republic,  will  be  still  more  prudent  than  M.  Sadi 
Carnot,  Minister  of  Finance,  and  that  he  will  use  all 
his  influence  to  prevent  France  from  granting  this  year, 
to  a  private  and  universal  company,  a  support  which 
would  not  only  make  our  country  lose  the  five  hundred 
and  sixty-five  millions  asked,  but  Avould  also  bring 
about  a  conflict  with  the  United  States  of  America,  as 
is  proven  by  the  documents  published  by  the  company 


MVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA.  283 

itself  and  reproduced  in  this  work  under  the  heading : 
'  Neutrality  of  the  Canal  and  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica.' " 

To  the  company's  unexpected  letter,  the  Ministers  of 
the  Republic,  will,  no  doubt,  reply  as  follows : 

"Your  letter  of  November  15,  1887,  is  but  a  second 
edition  of  the  one  dated  May  27,  1885,  with  a  few 
variations. 

"For  instance,  you  change  the  year  of  the  inaugura- 
tion (1890  instead  of  1888). 

"  You  were  then  to  make  a  tide-level  canal  and  finish 
it  entirely  for  one  thousand  and  seventy  millions;  you 
now  propose,  for  one  thousand,  six  hundred  and  fifty -four 
millions,  to  furnish  a  partial,  temporary  and  impracti- 
cable canal  that  cannot  pay. 

"You  are  now  asking  for  another  loan  of  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  millions  to  continue  the  temporary 
lock-canal,  when  this  sum,  added  to  the  funds  already 
collected  by  you,  makes  one  thousand,  six  hundred  and 
fifty -four  millions,  a  total  sufficient,  according  to  your 
statements,  to  dig  and  terminate  two  canals,  one  at  tide- 
level  and  the  other  with  locks. 

"  You  are  publishing  at  present  an  unanimous  opinion 
of  your  superior  consulting  commission ;  unfortunately, 
this  document  means  absolutely  nothing,  as  it  neither 
indicates  the  cost  of  the  canal  nor  the  date  of  its 
inauguration,  and  is  supported  by  no  demonstrative 
argument. 

"  Can  your  consulting  commission  be,  perchance,  the 
same  one  that  has,  for  seven  years,  approved  by  its 
silence  your  numerous  fantastic  estimates  and  your  eight 
different  inaugurations? 

"In  your  letter  of  May  27,  18S5,  to  the  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  you  estimated  the  traffic  of  your  tide-level 
canal  at  4,000,000  tons;  on  November  15,  1887,  in  your 
letter  to  the  Prime  Minister,  you  speak  of  7,500,000  tons 
for  a  temporary  lock-canal,  after  declaring  on  May  15, 
1880,  that  3,000,000  tons  could  not  pass  through  such  a 
canal. 
"Two  and  a  half  years  ago,  you  aflSrmed  that  six  hun- 


284  FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA. 

dred  millions  would  be  sufficient  to  complete  a  tide-level 
canal.  After  spending  nearly  five  hundred  millions 
since  that  date  (May  27,  1885)  you  ask  six  hundred 
millions  more,  making  eleven  hundred  millions  to  fur- 
nish only  a  provisional  lock-canal. 

"  You  now  offer  to  show  your  contracts,  although  you 
refused  to  do  so  on  July  9,  1886,  in  the  following  heroic 
terms:  /  am  put  off,  I  will  accept  no  adjournment. 
Faithful  to  my  past,  ivhen  persons  endeavor  to  stop  me, 
J  keep  straight  ahead!  Certainly  not  alone,  hut  with 
350,000  Frenchmen  sharing  my  patriotic  confidence! 

"  Being  no  doubt  abandoned  by  your  350,000  adherents 
and  forgetting  your  noble  words  of  1886,  you  now  im- 
plore a  second  time  for  the  intervention  of  the  state, 
adding  that  it  alone  must  complete  the  canal. 

"During  six  years  you  declared  to  the  world,  in  the 
most  positive  manner,  that  your  company  was  universal, 
that  it  would  finish  the  work  without  the  assistance  of 
any  government  whatever,  and  that  Fi-ance  had  no 
ofiicial  connection  with  the  canal. 

"After  such  declarations,  you  should,  like  good 
patriots,  cease  to  solicit  with  such  persistence  our  inter- 
vention, which  would  certainly  bring  on  a  conflict  with 
our  sister,  the  great  American  Republic. 

"  In  1879  and  1880,  you  affirmed  that  a  completed  lock- 
canal  costing  five  hundred  and  seventy  millions  would 
prove  a  disastrous  affair :  how  can  you  now  declare  that 
a  provisional  lock-canal  costing  one  thousand,  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four  millions  will  be  remunerative? 

"  As  a  guarantee  of  the  completion  of  the  canal,  you 
make  more  promises,  but,  for  seven  years,  you  have 
made  so  many  and  such  fine  ones,  you  have  announced 
so  many  inavigurations  which  have  never  taken  place, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  believe  in  that  of  Feburary  3,  1890. 

"Finally,  we  cannot  authorize  you  to  borrow  five 
hundred  and  sixty-five  millions  on  lottery  bonds  to  exe- 
cute work  in  the  United  States  of  Colombia,  when  we 
refuse  this  favor  for  enterprises  in  France,  where  our 
unfortunate  population  is  already  suffering  so  much 
from  the  industrial,  commercial  and  agricultural  crisis. 


FIVE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  285 

"Now,  you  must  admit  that  the  capitalists  who 
continue  to  supply  you  with  funds  after  all  the  contra- 
dictions, inexact  figures  and  the  fantastic  plans  and 
estimates  which  you  have  published,  are  really  too  good 
and  too  credulous;  admit,  also,  that  the  French  govern- 
ment and  the  speculators  have  nothing  to  do  with  your 
mortifications  and  your  unsuccessfulness,  for  which  you 
alone  are  responsible." 

If,  notwithstanding  the  publication  of  these  numerotis 
official  documents,  capitalists  continue  to  delude  them- 
selves, to  be  contented  with  ambiguous  phrases  and 
vague  but  sonorous  promises,  and  persist  in  bringing 
their  funds  to  Messrs.  de  Lesseps,  father  and  son,  who 
are  not  engineers,  and  to  the  managers,  let  it  be  at  their 
own  risk  and  peril,  but  the  government  must  not  en- 
courage all  these  fanatics  to  give  their  money  by  the 
allurement  of  large  prizes. 

In  telling  the  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  concern- 
ing the  Panama  canal,  I  feel  that  I  am  acting  as  a  good 
citizen. 

For  seven  years  past,  the  French  press  praises  and 
upholds  the  Panama  Canal  Company  and  constantly 
refuses  to  oublish  any  other  information  than  that  fur- 
nished by  the  company  itself. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  time  has  now  come  when  the 
truth  should  be  made  known  concerning  this  unfortu- 
nate enterprise,  and  I  hope  that  the  newspapers  that 
have  the  interest  of  the  public  at  heart  will  make  it  their 
duty  to  reproduce  part  or  all  of  this  work,  which  is 
established  from  undeniable  official  documents. 

Seeing  that  union  is  strength,  shareholders,  large  and 
small,  should  go  together  to  the  next  meeting  to  de- 
mand from  the  Board  of  Directors  clear  and  distinct 
answers  to  the  different  points  of  my  work,  and  espe- 
cially the  following: 

Estimated  cost  of  the  canal ; 

Estimated  amount  of  traffic ; 

Numerous  different  dates  of  inauguration ; 

Consulting  commission ; 

Lock-canal ; 


286 


FIVE  TEARS  AT  PANAMA. 


Receipts  and  expenses ; 

Contractors  (the  Couvreux  and  Hersent  contract) ; 

Neutrality  of  the  canal. 

Ask,  also,  why  the  company  has  not  published  every 
month,  the  amovmt  of  excavations  made  since  August 
1887. 

Demand  furthermore,  an  exact  specification,  with  full 
details,  of  the  work  which  the  company  intends  to  per- 
form to  complete  the  canal. 

If  you  are  only  given  vague  answers,  hold  private 
meetings  to  force  the  management  to  give  you  precise 
information,  because,  after  giving  six  hundred  millions, 
then  a  thousand  millions,  to  make  a  tide-level  canal,  you 
cannot  pay  one  thousand,  six  hundred  and  fifty-four 
millions  for  a  lock-canal  which  will  be  impracticable. 

Tlie  above  translations  from  Panama  and  Suez  will 
give  additional  light  on  M.  de  Lesseps  impossible  canal. 

EXCAVATIONS. 


UNDER  WATEH. 

ABOVE    WATER. 

SECTIONS. 

3 

u 

J.  s* 
-    -a 

o 
o 
u 

c  a 

1^ 

01 

M 
o 
o 

i 

Cal)ic 
metie.s. 

9  33J,00. 

•i,G75,bbb 

1-3.005.000 

Cubic 
metres. 

330,000 

Cubic 
metres. 

3,775.000 

2.r3 1,000 

377,000 

6.780,000 

Cubic 
metres. 

Cubic 
metres. 

Cubic 
metres. 

Atlantic  Section  . 
Culebra  Sectiou. 

23.710.000 
2.167,000 
1,473.000 

27,350.000 

825,000 

3,060.000 

C3, 190.000 

1,475,000 

Total 

300.000 

825,000 

i7,731,000 

Grand  total,  75,000,000  cubic  metres, 

GENERAL  ESTIMATE  OF  COST. 
First. — Excavations  (sidings  included), 
(a)     Excavations  above  water. 

Francs. 

Earth,  27,350,000  c.  m.  at  2.50  francs 68,760,000 

Rocks  of  mean  hardness,  825,000  c.  m.  at  7.00  francs        5,775,000 


Carried  forward, 74,535,000 


FIVJE  YEARS  AT  PANAMA.  287 

Brought  forward 74,535,000 

Hard  rocks,  27,734,000  c.  m.  at  12.00  francs 332,808,000 

Excavation  of  rocks,  where  pumping  is  necessary, 

6,409,000  c.  m.  at  18.00  francs 115,362,000 

(b)    Dredging    and   excavations   under   water. 
Mud  and  alluvial   soil,  12,005,000  c.   m.    at    2.50 

f  i-ancs 30.500,000 

Hard  soil  capable  of  being  dredged  300,000  c.  m. 

at  12.00  francs 3,600,000 

Excavation  of  rocks  under  water,  377,000  c.  m.  at 

35.00  francs 13,195.000 

570,000,000 
Second. — Dam  of  Gamboa;  length  1,600  metres, 

maximum  height  40  metres 100,000,000 

Third. — Cliannels  for  the  regulated  flow  of  the 
Chagres,  and  for  the  Obispo  and  Trinidad  riv- 
ers    75,000,000 

Fourth. — Tide  lock  on  the  Pacific  side 12,000,000 

Fifth.— Breakwater  in  the  Bay  of    Limon 10,000,000 

767,000,000 

Sixth.— Add  for  contingencies(10  p.  c.) 76,000,000 

Total 843,000,000 

Or  at  five  francs  to  the  dollar $168,600,000 


/^'Vf^ 


I-O'l  s^^l  V<^l  |V^, 

"viXaiAINnJVVv  ^.!/0JnV3J0>'      ^aOJIlVDJO'^ 


%13DNYS01^ 


^ 


AWEUNIVERS"//i 


% 


vvlOSANCUfx>  ^OFCAlIFOff/jjA,       ^0FCAIIF0% 

^-v^^      i(U^r\|    I^jC\s 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


^^s^i 


^OFCAl 

till 


>- 


^MM 


^l2 


ahm 


UN1919go 


\oi\mi^^ 


^ 


^ 


^ 


^^ 


i 

I 


o 


3  1158  01107  8671 


) 


•s^  ^\  V  ^  ^^\  v^ 


'^^/smmi^      "^^ommnP     "^Aavaan-i^ 


I 


'^<aojnvojo>^ 


5?v  -> .% 


,UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001  161  346    0 


^OF-CAl!F0% 


.\WE-UNIVER% 

on 

< 

pa 


^lOSANCflCf^ 


<ri]33NVSm^       %a3AINfl-3WV 


^ 


^lOSANCEl/-/^ 

O 


^lUBRARY-O^ 


-5^1UBRARYQ^. 


soi^     %a3AiNn-3WV^       ^^AHvaaiH^      ^^^Aavaani^ 


< 

ea 


'^: 


^RY^^       -^llIBRARYOc^ 


aWEUNIVERS//, 


vj,lOSANCElfx> 


OJO"^      ^<!/0JllV3J0'^         %133NVS01^       %a3AINrtaWV^ 


mm^ 


W^ 


niT^irt 


'iiija 


.iVj'iil?"; 


■m 


